Snowglobe, my arse!
by littleladygoldie
Summary: Yuri and Wolfram get separated, as changes begin to occur with the prince. A mention of wedding dresses and cosplay... it's been so long since i updated this thing. hope you still remember this exists!
1. The Snowglobe

Disclaimer: I don't own KKM or The Grudge or even any snowglobes, just this pitiful fanfic… boo-hoo…

Warning: a little lime…

Pairing: Yuuram/Wolyuu

Snowglobe, my arse!!!

The Snowglobe

Yuri had just gotten off from school on a Friday afternoon and was riding his bicycle home, humming some sappy love song to himself and thinking (and missing terribly) a particular blond that he left behind in the Great Demon Kingdom. He was passing by a nearby lake when he heard someone yell.

"Hey, mister! Watch out!"

He turned to look but what greeted his poor face so hard with a loud thud was a black and white soccer ball and it sent the double-black toppling towards the waiting water which in turn swirled around and around swallowing the boy whole…

-oOo-

It was almost dusk in the Great Demon Kingdom when Yuri returned unceremoniously through the huge cooking pot that was about to be heated in the kitchen. And it was the screams of the maids that brought the panic-stricken Conrart and Wolfram into the room, their swords drawn anticipating an attack.

As the double-black clambered out of the pot he spat out a chunk of carrot that found itself into the king's mouth as he was coming out for air. "No Sadako, just me!" he joked which was probably a bad idea as Wolfram pointed the tip of his sword to his fiancé's neck.

"Who is this Sadako you speak of? Spill it out, wimp!" His green eyes narrowed, furious and almost ready to shoot out fire.

Yuri held out his hands in defense. "Relax, Wolf!" He pushed the tip away that was dangerously close to his neck and stood up. "Sadako's just a character from a movie. She's not even real."

"But you like her," Wolfram persisted on.

"What?! Didn't you listen to what I said? She's not real. She's a made up character for a horror movie. She emerges from the water and kills her unsuspecting preys," Yuri tried to explain which only baffled the blond more.

"That doesn't make sense. Why would she hide from in the water? Why doesn't she just attack them from behind or when they're defenseless?"

Yuri sighed. This was going nowhere. "Forget it, okay?"

Wolfram's eyes narrowed even more. "You have something to hide from me, you cheater?"

With clenched fists, Yuri yelled, "For crying out loud, I AM NOT CHEATING ON YOU!" When the implications of what he actually said settled in his mind, he blushed. "I mean –"

Wolfram just smirked as he sheathed his sword. "Whatever, wimp!"

"I'm not a wimp," Yuri only muttered as he tried to suppress the dark blush that had crept up his face but failed miserably.

"Whatever you say, wimp."

"I told you, I'm – ah! Forget it!"

"Welcome back, Your Majesty." Conrart smiled at his godson, his sword already sheathed at his side. "We should get you changed before you catch a cold. We wouldn't want to worry Gunter too much. You know how he is."

Yuri smiled back and nodded.

As they started to head out of the kitchen, Conrart chuckled. "Good thing you arrived a bit earlier. If it was a few minutes later, you would have been cooked."

Wolfram followed them and wrinkled his nose, "Can you just imagine eating wimp stew? Don't make me lose my appetite, Lord Weller."

"Wolfram!" Yuri whined. "Stop calling me wimp!"

"Sure wimp!"

Yuri sighed and decided to let this one go then turned to Conrart, "and Conrad?"

The older man looked down at him, "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Considering that you were the one who named me, I thought it wouldn't be too difficult for you to remember my name, which happened to sound like urine?" the dark-haired boy hinted as he cringed inwardly when sudden flashbacks of his classmates taunting him mercilessly because of his name ran through his mind in a second.

Conrart laughed. "I'm sorry. I never really thought your mother would actually give you the name I had suggested. I was glad when she did, though."

"Good for you, Conrad," Yuri muttered rather sarcastically.

His godfather just smiled. "We should hurry… Yuri."

Yuri smiled back. _Much better!_

-oOo-

Wolfram looked at his older brother, annoyed and wondered impatiently when he would leave him and Yuri alone. Conrart even went with them to bedchambers he and Yuri shared when His Majesty had a change of clothes and out in the hallways when they were headed to Gwendal's office.

"Lord Weller, don't you have some other business to attend to?" Wolfram asked suggestively.

Conrart brought his hand to his chin and thought pensively. "Umm… No, not really."

Wolfram fumed. _Can't this guy take a hint? Leave us alone dammit!_

Fortunately, before Wolfram blew, an out of breath soldier came running to them. "Lord Weller, Lord von Christ said he needed to speak with you immediately. He said it was urgent."

The brunet nodded. "I'll get to it right away," then sent the soldier off and turned to his brother and godson. "I must leave you two now. I have some meeting to attend to."

"I'm coming with you," the dark-haired boy declared which alarmed his fiancé.

_Oh, no, you don't! _Wolfram thought as he tugged on Yuri's arm.

Conrart finally taking the hint, smiled. "No, it's okay, Your Majesty. I'm sure this is nothing important."

"But Gunter said it is urgent. War could be brewing at the borders. I must be involved when it comes to matters of the country."

Wolfram rolled his eyes. _Oh please!_

"Don't worry, Yuri. Gunter's probably just exaggerating, like he almost always does." Conrart deliberately used his godson's name to help convince him to stay and it must have worked because Yuri nodded.

"Okay, Conrad, but you have to brief me on it later."

"Very well, Your Majesty," Conrart said with a slight bow.

"Hey! What happened to 'Yuri'?"

His godfather chuckled. "See you later, Yuri," then turned to his brother, "Wolfram."

The blond merely nodded and watched his half-brother disappear around the corner. "Finally! I thought he'd never leave!"

"Why? Do still – oomph!" Before Yuri could finish his sentence, he was pushed against the concrete wall and Wolfram's lips were pressed hard against his own. He tried to say something but all that came out was, "Mmm, umm… hmm nnm…"

The blond broke the kiss momentarily only to gaze at his fiancé with lustful green eyes that gleamed with pure lasciviousness. "God, Yuri! I missed you so much," he whispered huskily.

"I miss – mmm…" and his lips were ravished hungrily again.

Even though Wolfram was already osculating his fiancé's lips, he still felt hungry – but not for something edible. Well, technically, Yuri was edible – which can mean so many things to Wolfram and that was exactly what he wanted to do: eat Yuri. The thought made him feel hot, and not because it was summer, and deepened the kiss which made Yuri moan, which made him feel even hotter and pressed his body against his fiancé. His hands crawled to the young king's firm butt and pulled his hips against his own, making Yuri feel how much Wolfram exactly _missed _him then heard the double-black whimper. Wolfram always believed that actions always expressed things way better and clearer than words.

The prince's lips traveled down to the other boy's chin then jaw, nipping every now and then, then down to the side of his neck. The scent of Yuri made his libido go on overdrive; Yuri smelled just so damn sexy!

"Mmm… Wolf…" Yuri murmured.

Wolfram started to open Yuri's shirt when he was stopped. The blond looked up at his face expecting an explanation.

Yuri blushed a little. "Umm… We can't do this here."

"Fine! You are such a wimp!" then grabbed his fiancé's hand and went in the nearest room he spotted. As soon as the door was closed, Yuri was slammed again against the wooden door and the ravishing continued.

"Umm…" Yuri started again.

"What now?"

"Someone could come in and we'd get caught red-handed."

Wolfram sighed with exasperation. "Really, Yuri. You are acting like you're still a virgin."

"I just feel uncomfortable if anyone knew, okay? Sue me, I'm shy!"

"Oh? That's not what I'm seeing when we're alone," Wolfram teased. He thought his fiancé looked just adorable when flustered.

Yuri blushed, "Er… well, that's a different story! Why can't we just go to our room?"

Wolfram's face was near his again and Yuri could feel the heat that the prince emitted, the need, the _want, _the wanton _greed._ "It's too damn far. Would a closet suffice?" Without even waiting for an answer, Yuri's wrist was grabbed and the king was dragged to the closet.

"Wolf, you realize you're the only person whom I allow to push me around?"

"It's because you're such a pushover, a wimp!"

"Hey! I'm the king here. I should be doing all the pushing!"

Wolfram glanced back at him, a naughty look in his face. "Why don't we take turns, Yuri?"

"Gah! I didn't mean that!" he yelled and was shoved to the dark closet. He looked around but couldn't see anything at all. "Damn! It's dark in here!" The next thing he saw was a ball of fire suspended in mid-air and Wolfram looking at him like the hungry devil ready to devour his poor, not so innocent victim.

Once again, the pushover was pushed against the wall by his pushy fiancé ready for some – pushing… Their lips and hips were pressed against each other again and made both of them breathless. Even though Yuri was in the heat of the moment which almost drove him to the brink of insanity, he still had the lucidity to try to reach for the doorknob, "Lock… the… door…"

Wolfram stomped his foot and furiously locked the door himself then glared at the dark-haired boy, albeit looking a bit hurt, "Geez, Yuri! Don't you miss me?"

"O-of course I do."

"It doesn't seem like it. You're making up all the excuses to –"

"I'm not making up excuses, Wolf. I really miss you. I just want to make sure that we're not caught, that's all."

Wolfram looked at his fiancé with doubt. "Honestly?"

"Honestly."

The licentious fiancé brought his mouth close to Yuri's ears, deliberately puffing out warm air that made the dark-haired boy tingle all over. "Then show me that you miss me," he drawled, his voice husky, almost daring the other boy to do his worst and sure enough the king lost control and did just what the soldier ordered him to do. The blond was grabbed by the shoulders and pinned against the concrete wall, his blue uniform gone in a blink of an eye. Yuri was trailing hot kisses down his fiancé's neck and collarbone as he struggled with Wolfram's white shirt. And when Yuri's hand slowly reached for that sensitive part between his legs, he couldn't help but moan. _Oh… My… God…_

It took them a couple of minutes to reach the heavenly skies and back again, panting and sweating all over, but totally satiated.

"Wow," Yuri whispered, totally wiped out from the vigorous activity and was slumped against the wall.

Wolfram just smirked as he buttoned down his uniform. "Mother didn't give me the name Wolf for nothing."

"She must have known, huh?" Yuri asked as he stood up and started to get dressed.

"I think I got my sexual drive from my mother."

"You think your brothers are as rabid as you?"

Wolfram paused for a bit, wondering about his brothers. It was possible that Conrart could be as passionate as he was, but Gwendal? An image of his oldest brother flashed through his mind, naked and in bed with a – cute stuffed animal? _No, no…_ Wolfram shook his head to rid the thought. Now he tried to picture Gwendal with a woman, a woman with long silken lavender hair – was that Gunter? _Try Anissina. _But it would have been un-gentlemanly of him to picture a woman naked, so Gunter had to stay, because he couldn't think of anyone else. _All right, fine. If they want to._ Picturing Gwendal on top of Gunter was very difficult for him. Would his face stay so serious like it always was? Maybe a little bit more passionate? But no matter how much he tried, the scowl remained. _Ah! This is hopeless. Gwendal's dick would probably just wither and fall off from disuse. I feel sorry for the poor man; besides, who in the world would want to make love to a man whose face looked like he was constipated?_ Finally, he said to Yuri, "I'm not sure about Gwendal."

When they finally finished dressing, it was Yuri who realized in which closet they were in. He gasped, "Oh no! We're in crazy-lady Anissina's lab!"

"Really?" Wolfram asked, looking up at the shelf full of weird contraptions and doodads and felt distressed. "We'd better make sure she doesn't see us coming out, or she'll make us pay for trespassing," he stated and swallowed a lump in his throat.

"We'd better make sure _nobody_ sees us coming out from her lab or they'll wonder why we're here of all places! Nobody – and I mean, _nobody _could dare to try and enter this torture chamber," Yuri added flinging his arms around and almost slapping accidentally the blond for the second time.

The prince sighed. "I'm tired of all this hiding, Yuri. Can't we just tell them about this?" Wolfram whined.

"Come on, Wolf. That's so embarrassing. Could you just imagine how they would react when we tell them we've had sex?"

"Made love, Yuri," Wolfram corrected.

"Whatever. Maybe when I'm ready."

Wolfram rolled his eyes and murmured, "When? On your deathbed?"

But the other boy wasn't listening as he was going through the seemingly harmless, but very deadly, objects.

"Yuri, don't touch anything!" the prince hissed.

"Aw, Wolf. I'm not gonna break them."

"That's not what I'm scared of."

"Ooo… hey, a snowglobe! It's huge!"

"Remember Yuri, things aren't always what they seem to be here in her lab."

But like before, Yuri wasn't listening and was already grabbing the object he called a _snowglobe,_ which looked like a big crystal ball on top of a tripod with wires underneath it.The dark boy was looking at it with so much wonder that Wolfram's heart almost melted at such a sweet and innocent sight. This was the boy whom he fell in-love with and it was this boy right in front of him that his whole world revolved around in. This young boy, that was so full of happiness and optimism and could be gentle then deadly in a second, completely stole his heart, little by little and without him even realizing it until Yuri was holding his heart at the palm of his hand. Honestly, How could someone such as the king of the Great Demon Kingdom, that holds so much power, so much danger that could annihilate the Heavens and the earth with one single blow, could look so gentle, so fragile… so sweet? How could something so unpretentious captivate him so? It was a complete mystery to Wolfram. And yet he didn't care. He didn't care if Yuri decided to crush his heart in his palm; all he cared was that he was happy and his Yuri was happy.

"Careful," Wolfram said softly, so choked up with emotion that made the other boy look up, confused at the sudden change of character. Wolfram just smiled as he stood beside his fiancé. "So what does this snowglobe do? Does it contain magic?"

"No, just fake snow and most of the time a figurine of a ballerina or Santa."

"Then what?"

"That's it."

"That's it?"

Yuri nodded.

"Why would anyone want to make this… snowglobe when it doesn't even serve any purpose?"

"Not all things have a purpose, Wolf. They're just for display. Kinda like… paintings."

"Paintings serve a purpose, you wimp! They remind us of history, some remind us of important people in the past. And sometimes they express feelings that can not be put into words. They're not just for aesthetics, you know."

"Fine! Fine! You win!" Yuri shrugged. "We should see what this thing does," he wondered, completely forgetting the hazards of Anissina's world, and examining it. He tried twisting it, pulling on the wires, snapping and knocking on the glass, but still nothing.

"We're swimming in dangerous waters here, Yuri."

"Trust me a little, okay? I promise I won't let anything happen to you. Now, come on and help me."

Wolfram stared at the dark boy for a few seconds then took hold of the glass ball on the other side. "All right. If we die, I'm going to kill you, you wimp."

"Wolf, technically, you wouldn't be able to kill me when I'm dead."

"I'll ask Shinou to raise you and kill you again."

"I doubt he'll grant your request."

Wolfram was about to retort when Yuri yelled out, "Oh, hey, a switch!" then CLICK!

ZAAAP!!! Both of them felt a slight surge of electricity course through their bodies and dropped the crystal ball-like thing to the ground with a loud thud and both of them soon followed, completely dazed. The ball of fire extinguished, leaving them in the darkness of the closet.

Wolfram felt the pain in his butt from falling but rubbed his head which felt just as painful as if he had been hit by a solid rock. "Ow! What the – Yuri, what did you do? I told you that thing was dangerous."

There was silence and Wolfram started to feel panic rising to his chest. What had happened to Yuri?

"Who's there?" a familiar voice called in the darkness. He knew the voice but somehow couldn't put his finger on it. Now in distress, he conjured up fire and light flooded the small chamber. Whom he saw sitting in front of him almost made him pass out or wonder if he had died and was staring into his dead (but awake?) body or was still unconscious inside the closet. Green eyes stared back at him, full with the same disbelief. He looked at the other boy's blond hair and blue uniform. He even had the same sword strapped at his side. _What is going on? Why am I looking at myself? Is this a mirror?_ He raised his hand to touch the image, but when he did he noticed the dark sleeve of his shirt. He looked down his pants, they were black.

"Why – why am I wearing Yuri's clothes?" he thought aloud, not really speaking to the image in front of him.

Then the image spoke, "Because you _are_ Yuri, but that's impossible because _I'm _Yuri – I think."

"I don't think so! You don't look anything like Yuri. You look like… me."

They just stared at each other for a few good seconds then it hit them. With widened eyes they yelled in unison "THE SNOWGLOBE!" and dove for the thing lying on the ground. They tried the switch again, but nothing happened. They tried again, still nothing. Again. Nothing. Again and again and again. But to no avail.

"Oh great! You broke it!" Wolfram said.

"Hey! You dropped it too!"

"But this wasn't my idea!"

"But you could have told me not to!"

"I distinctly remember warning you!"

"Warning me and telling me not to are two completely different things!"

Wolfram clenched his fists, a low growl rising from his throat. "Yuri…!"

"Um… Wolf? I'm sorry…"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!"

Before Wolfram could do any damage to Yuri in his body, the young king, the wimp that he was, shot up, fumbled with the lock and dashed out of the room.

"YURI! COME BACK HERE! FACE ME LIKE A MAN, YOU WIMP!!!"

-oOo-

"Your Majesty! Where are you, Your Majesty? Why must you hide from me, Gunter, your faithful servant? Why must you torment me so?" The advisor was starting his theatrics ever since he heard that Yuri was back. "Oh no!" he gasped. "Maybe he was kidnapped or sent back to Earth even before I had the chance to say hello and express my deepest admiration to His Majesty!"

"Relax Gunter. I'm sure His Majesty is fine. He's probably just with Wolfram," Conrart said, trying to appease Gunter's troubled emotions.

"That Wolfram! Why is he taking too much of His Majesty's precious time these days?"

"Feeling a bit envious?" Conrart chuckled. "Don't worry, His Majesty hasn't forgotten you."

"Speaking of the devil! Wolfram, I demand to know where you're hiding His Majesty!"

"Hello Gunter Conrad gotta go bye!" and zoomed right past them.

"Wol – fram?" Gunter stammered.

Conrart could only stare at the rapidly retreating form of his younger brother and wondered why Wolfram had addressed him by his first name. And where was he off to in such a hurry?

They were still baffled by Wolfram's discrepancy of character that they didn't notice the black blur that whizzed past them.

"Uh – Your Majesty!" Gunter called out but was ignored. He sank to the floor dramatically. "Oh, woe is me! His Majesty has forgotten about me, Gunter, his faithful servant!"

"Gunter? I'm sure His Majesty has a good explanation for, um, ignoring you today." Conrart tried consoling the distressed advisor again, but only made the wailings louder that echoed in the empty castle hallways.

"I've been forgotten!"

TBC

Notes: About Sadako, she emerges from the TV right? I overlooked that info, but I'm too lazy to change anything now. Oh, and I'm sorry about the lime so early in the story. It had to be done. One more thing, in the later part of the story (you might be confused), when I say Wolfram, I meant Wolf in Yuri form and vice versa, okay? Okay.


	2. DA No 9284: The Anissina Law

Disclaimer: as usual, I don't own KKM.

Warning: confusing roles? Mostly conversations…

Before we start: I will be using mostly the English version, except for a few (Shinou or maybe Maou (just in case I might decide to turn Yuri into that sexy hunk of a double-black) and other words I don't know the English version of). This short chappie is just Yuri's POV. A friendly reminder: Yuri is Wolf; Wolf is Yuri.

Thanks to: ajgau1, Death To Haru, Tati-ai, contravene431, hannah-asakura and Knight of Caeli for the R&R's!!!

Snowglobe, my arse!!!

DA No. 9284: The Anissina Law

Yuri cracked his eyes open and squinted from the bright early morning sunlight that filtered through the windows that faced the side of his bed. His stomach growled quite menacingly. _Oh right. I didn't have dinner last night… Why didn't I take my dinner last night?_ When he couldn't recall, he just shrugged and turned to the warm body lying next to him, planning on planting a big, wet kiss on the boy's lips, but stopped… _Eh? _He blinked at the person beside him who was still fast asleep. _I probably must still be sleeping and I'm dreaming of waking up beside – myself? And how come I'm wearing Wolfram's nightgown? Oh, wait… it kinda looks nice on me – what am I thinking!? But pink is kinda flattering; I do look like I'm glowing. No wonder Wolfram looks cute in it._

The dark-haired boy budged and whispered, "Mmm… Wimp…"

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side, well, considering you're me… I can't believe I'm calling myself a wimp!" Yuri wailed.

Dark eyes slowly opened, "What's all this commotion so early –" his eyes grew wide then quickly rolled out of bed, unsheathed Wolfram's sword leaning next to the bedpost, aiming it at the other kneeling on the mattress. "Who are you?" he demanded.

_Ooh… I didn't know I could sound so threatening. _Yuri threw up his hands, "Hey, chill out Yuri." _It feels weird talking to myself._

The other's eyes narrowed. "Yuri? Why are you calling me–" He suddenly felt weak and dropped the sword to the ground. "Oh, so that wasn't a dream?" he groaned.

"What wasn't a dream? I _am_ dreaming right now, aren't I?"

"No, you wimp! Snowglobes ring any bell?" Wolfram asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh?" Yuri tried hard to think about what his other form had said. _Snowglobes, snowglobes, snowglobes… _then recollection slowly but surely came to him. "Oh." He eyed the other boy curiously. "So… you're Wolfram and not Yuri?"

Wolfram clenched his fists at his sides and glared ominously at his fiancé. "Yuri, I know I said I would kill you if we die and since we didn't, I'd still kill you anyway!" then lunged for Yuri. Wolfram straddled him, his fingers circling around the other boy's neck.

"Wolf, if you kill me, you'd be killing yourself, too! You won't have a body to go back to!"

"Right now, I don't care! I just want to make you sore!"

"Didn't we do enough of that yesterday?"

Wolfram's grip tightened around Yuri. "How could you even joke around at a time like this, you wimp!?"

"Ack, gak, uck!" Yuri tried prying Wolfram's fingers off and he almost succeeded when the doors burst open. They stopped in mid-struggle to look at the intruder.

"Your Majesty! It's time for - gasp - Wolfram, what are you doing with – er, to His Majesty?"

Yuri realized the advisor was talking to him. "What!? Hey, I'm the one who's being killed here!"

Gunter looked at one bare shoulder that the gown had slipped off from. "Oh my! Your Majesty, why – why are you wearing Lord Wolfram's night –" then stopped as he put his hand before his nose, a nosebleed had come. "Your Majesty, please excuse me. I must clear my head," came a muffled statement then dashed out, slamming the door behind him.

A few minutes later, they were almost done dressing when they realized they had the wrong pieces of clothing on. It took another few more minutes for them to exchange and was about to head out for breakfast. "Yuri, don't you think we should really tell everyone what happened? I think they're bound to find out sooner or later."

Yuri strapped on Wolfram's sword to his side then chewed on his bottom lip. "Is there really no other way we could fix this ourselves?"

"Unless one of us is good with mechanics, then no."

Yuri's forehead wrinkled, chewing on his lower plump lip a bit more. Finally, he sighed, "Very well. We could just tell them we were playing hide and seek in Anissina's lab."

They headed out the door. "I highly doubt they'll believe that; they're not morons, Yuri. It's been a long time since we've been engaged, they should be expecting our relationship to go a notch higher, or two."

"I just don't think Gwendal or Gunter would approve of us doing something like that out of wedlock."

"Oh please! We're as good as married, Yuri."

"All right, fine! You've proven your point! We'll tell them." Yuri sighed. "Man, I didn't know I could sound so demanding."

"And I didn't know I could sound so wimpy! Don't complain too much, you'll ruin my image."

"Ah! What image?" Yuri asked as they entered the dining hall, deliberately rushing in and not giving a chance for Wolfram to answer. He quickly took his seat and spread the napkin over his lap then looked at everyone that had already gathered at the table. They were staring at him as if he had decided to come for breakfast naked. "What?"

It was Conrart who answered him, "Wolfram, why are you at His Majesty's seat?"

"A, about that. There's something I need to tell all of you… This is kind of embarrassing–"

The wooden doors suddenly flew open and in strode the woman that was considered the Great Demon Kingdom's very own walking catastrophe, the woman with red hair and piercing blue eyes that was so deep that it obscured the wickedness that settled within her. "It seems like everyone is present, that's good," she declared holding up her left forefinger. "As of this morning, I just found out that someone had been in my lab without my consent; and you all know the consequences to that."

Yuri leaned over to Gunter. "What is she talking about?"

"Wolfram, you don't know?"

_Oh shoot! I forgot I was Wolfram! _Yuri smiled weakly, "Uh… eh… hehehe… for the sake of my fiancé, maybe we – er, I mean, you should explain it to him?"

Gwendal glowered at the advisor and teacher. "You haven't told His Majesty _yet_?"

Gunter looked sheepish. "Um, well, I didn't think a law like that could be so important that I had to require His Majesty to be aware of such a law. I didn't–"

"He is the king. He should know every decree, law, and bylaw this kingdom upholds - no matter how insignificant it may seem."

"Yes, you are absolutely right, My Lord." Bowing to the dark-haired king he said, "Forgive me for my negligence, Your Majesty."

Wolfram looked a little uncomfortable in his seat, "Umm… it's okay."

"Maybe now's the time to acquaint His Majesty with Anissina's law?" Conrart suggested.

_Anissina's law?_

"Yes, yes! Just let me go get the official Great Demon Kingdom rule book."

When Gunter went out to fetch the official Great Demon Kingdom rule book, everyone shifted anxiously under Anissina's accusing glare. Yuri could feel buckets of sweat dripping from every surface of his body that was capable of sweating. He was probably making a puddle of sweat under his seat right now and restrained himself from looking if it was actually happening. _What was this law?_ He wondered nervously. _Everyone seemed so frightened about it but why wasn't I told about this? Was it punishable_ _by death – or worse? Was there even a punishment worse than death?_ He swallowed hard and shifted his eyes at Wolfram. _How come he didn't tell me about it?_ He had to contain himself from looking so guilty. His thoughts were broken when Gunter came back in with a very thick black book. Yuri's head started to spin at the sight of such a hateful book as scores of recollections of him pouring over the book day in and day out flooded his mind. What made it worse was that until now he still had trouble reading Demon text.

"Here it is, Your Majesty." Gunter dropped the book in front of Wolfram and Yuri could swear that he felt the table tilt to one side. He opened it to the last page and pointed at some text. "This is the Anissina law, as we like to label it."

The inventor could only smile smugly as she made her way behind Wolfram's chair and peered at the book

"Where?" Yuri asked, craning his neck trying to look at the pages yellowed with age.

"Here. Under Demon Act Number ninety-two eighty-four –"

"Hey, when did Anissina become queen?" Yuri blurted out.

Everyone turned to look at him as Gunter spoke, "Really, Wolfram, why does it appear that you don't know anything about this?"

Yuri felt himself sweat even harder. _Think fast, Shibuya! _"Um, well, I just… forgot. You know me, always busy, busy, busy!" then laughed weakly.

Gunter nodded, but seemed like he was not so convinced by Yuri's persuasion.

Gwendal spoke up, "Well, for the sake of His Majesty, I think a thorough explanation should best be under way."

"Well, it was a little more than twenty years ago when we held this 'Ruler for a day' once every two years. Many people of legal age were allowed to participate, even the townsfolk, but, of course, a long and stringent screening had to be followed to avoid any undesirable – um, individuals. Whoever was chosen could be king or queen for a whole twenty-four hours and could formulate any rule that she or he ever wished, granting that they do not wage war, take any lives or imply discrimination." Gunter sighed. "I just don't know how Anissina was chosen."

Gwendal huffed. "Call it Shinou's will."

"Ha!" Anissina exclaimed. "I am more than qualified to be this kingdom's ruler, and wasn't because it was Shinou's will!"

"Ruler for a day, huh?" Yuri asked, contemplating. "So why wasn't it continued?"

"Well, everything went well for the first few decades and people were taking the role seriously like they should. It was also a wonderful way for the people of the kingdom to be heard, to have their issues voiced out; it made them active participants of the Demon community. It also helps them realize just how taxing a position could be and they just can't simply complain whenever they find something dissatisfying. But as the tradition went on, very strange rules were made and became stranger and stranger every time."

"How strange?" Yuri asked and Gunter just overlooked Wolfram's sudden ignorance.

"Well…" Gunter placed his finger on his chin, "For instance, hanging a person by his feet if he bathes in the river, naked, with a dragon on a full moon or shaving one's hair off when he is found balancing a bowl of daikemi stew on his head or the most recent, whosoever is seen wearing green breeches riding a black horse shall be tickled until he wets himself."

"And you approve things like that?"

Gunter was looking sheepish again, "Um, well, seemingly harmless laws are usually approved right away. After all, all it did was occupy space in the official Great Demon Kingdom rule book and nothing more."

"Oh."

"So eventually, the tradition was stopped, since hardly anyone was putting value in it anymore. It became quite meaningless."

Wolfram was now holding the book up and was invisible behind the thick volume, now reacquainting himself with the old book that he himself once studied a long time prior.

Gwendal cleared his throat, "Let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we now?"

"Ah, yes. The Anissina Law. Your Majesty, why don't you have a try reading it?"

And Wolfram was only too happy to comply, "No one shall gain admittance to Miss von Karbelnikoff, Anissina's private work chambers without the said proprietor's approval, with exceptions to children below twenty-five years of demon age and ten years of human age. Whosoever violates this precept and is proven guilty by the court shall be condemned for exactly sixty months, not excluding week-ends and holidays, no more and no less, of servitude under Miss von Karbelnikoff, Anissina's jurisdiction and is implied to partake in any research no matter how precarious or unwarranted it may seem and cannot repudiate no matter the circumstances encompassing the event, with the exception of the death of the malefactor."

_Okay, so this is what's worse than death!_ Yuri cried inside.

Everyone turned wide-eyed at Wolfram, who apparently had forgotten that Yuri couldn't read Demon text very well yet, except for Gunter who was beaming with so much pride at his king and student, his eyes on the verge of spilling the happy tears. "Oh, Your Majesty! I didn't know you could read our text so fluently now, as if it was your mother tongue, and a rule book at that! Oh, I, Gunter von Christ, a loyal servant of His Majesty, King Yuri Shibuya Harajuku Furi, have reached the uttermost of my achievements. All those hours pouring over textbooks and locking yourself up, reading and studying had finally paid off! I am so proud of you!" and was now holding Wolfram in one of his crushing embraces.

Yuri chuckled as he watched the two of them go at it. _Now Wolfram knows exactly how I feel!_ Turning to Anissina, "Um, I don't mean to sound rude, but why in the world would you make such a law?"

Anissina stared at Yuri for a few seconds and wondered why Wolfram was so courteous all of a sudden – not to mention oblivious. She blinked. "Well, if I remember correctly, a particular _somebody_ would try to sneak into my lab and take away all my wonderful inventions," rolling her eyes towards Gwendal who scowled.

"And if I remember correctly, they were not wonderful, not one bit," Gwendal retorted sourly.

"So you made this because Gwendal was bugging you?" Yuri asked.

Anissina sighed. "It was the time when we wanted to settle the differences between us a little more than subtly. But, come on! That was more than twenty years ago. But I never regretted it. I'll always know that my babies are always safe… until now." She slammed her closed fist against an open palm. "Who ever broke my I-am-such-a-loser-and-my-life-sucks-and-I-want-yours-so-lets-exchange-because-I-think-you-have-a-better-life-than-mine-kun shall be condemned for sixty months of servitude under my jurisdiction! I'm getting to the bottom of this… so better 'fess up, Gwendal! I know you did it! Old habits die hard!"

The man dropped his spork with a clatter. "I did no such thing! I'm way over that phase."

Anissina huffed and stomped towards the door, turned back to them one last time and pointed at Gwendal, who flinched. "I'm going to prove that it was _you _who broke my I-am-such-a-loser-and-my-life-sucks-and-I-want-yours-so-lets-exchange-because-I-think-you-have-a-better-life-than-mine-kun, and you cannot deny becoming my guinea pig!" She guffawed wickedly as she left the room leaving the feel of dread hanging heavily inside the dining hall.

Yuri swallowed a lump that seemed to be stuck in his throat no matter how many times he swallowed. _So that was Anissina's invention. It wasn't a snowglobe after all. _Yuri felt totally sheepish. Of course Anissina wouldn't make something like a snowglobe; she was evil, snowglobes aren't evil.

Conrart took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Well, that sure was an interesting way to start the day, don't you think?" asking everyone in general.

The oldest brother sighed, "Now you see why you had to inform His Majesty about seemingly pointless laws, Gunter? Anissina's out to get me; she's never going to let me live this down."

"I just thought everyone had a good sense to avoid that wretched chamber. I mean, I know, I wouldn't enter there even if I was paid!" Gunter defended.

Lord von Voltaire braced his aching head against his thumb and fingers as he propped his elbow against the surface of the table. "It was probably just one of the maids, who didn't know better, doing the cleaning and dropped it by accident."

Gunter finally released Wolfram from his death grasp and went back to his seat. He chortled as he spread the napkin over his lap. "I'm just glad it's not one of us. Whoever did it is doomed."

Yuri gave Wolfram a worried side-glance. _Yeah, doomed!_

As breakfast was served, Conrart turned his attention to his godson. "Wolfram, weren't you telling us something before Anissina came in?"

Wolfram looked up, looking baffled, "I was?"

"No, Your Majesty. I was speaking to Wolfram."

"A, yeah."

"Aah! Conrad – er, L-Lord Weller. That was nothing. Forget it." _Calling Conrad as Lord Weller felt totally weird. Wait, does Wolfram address Conrad that way? I never really paid much attention before. What the heck, what's said is said. Besides, he didn't even seemed to notice that I almost slipped back there, _Yuri thought as he looked discretely at his godfather toying with his spork, but then again the brunet was always hard to read.

"Wolfram, remind me again why you're seated at His Majesty's chair?" Gunter inquired.

"About that. Wol – Yuri thought it might be nice to change viewpoints for a while. You know, it's good for a robust relationship; to strengthen our bond and – things like that," Yuri provided lamely.

Fortunately for them, Gunter swallowed it, hook, line and sinker. He was glowing once again, "Oh, Your Majesty! You are truly admirable! So full of wisdom and such passion! You will truly become one of the greatest kings to have ever ruled the Great Demon Kingdom! It is such an honor to be your servant. I swear, from this day forth I will always be by your side, to guide you and protect you!"

"Yes, yes!" Wolfram exclaimed acting all grandiose, putting his hand on his chest dramatically.

_I do not act like that! Wolfram is such a bad actor! _Yuri fumed.

"I'm going to need all the protecting I get, since I am such a wimp and all."

Yuri gaped at Wolfram, who was trying his hardest at hiding his amused smile, and resisted the urge to strangle him right then and there. _I get this from someone telling me not to ruin his image? He's so gonna get it later._

Gunter seemed to be at a loss for words. "Uh – well – Your Majesty…" he then turned to Yuri, "Wolfram, stop calling His Majesty a wimp! He is a brave king, who would even sacrifice his life for the sake of this kingdom!"

Wolfram was now snickering softly beside Yuri, apparently enjoying it.

"But I –" Yuri started.

Wolfram cleared his throat and sat up straighter, "Now, now, Gunter. Don't be so harsh on my darling fiancé." Wolfram practically drawled the last two words as he patted Yuri's hand on top of the table. "He is right. I should be grateful to him for helping me realize my true character."

_Darling fiancé?_ Yuri felt like he was going to gag. _And no, you did not help me realize my true character and all that bull. What is he doing!? Oh, he's going to die!!!_ Yuri wanted to protest so badly, but images of him working for Anissina for five whole years (plus holidays and week-ends), doing things unimaginable – or things he'd rather not bother to imagine _at all _– and painful things, ran frighteningly through his mind, so that shut him up. He just wondered why Wolfram was so daring; he was in as much trouble as Yuri was. Wolfram was just having too much fun mocking him. _HE'S DEFINITELY GOING TO DIE!!! I SWEAR IT!!!_

-oOo-

As soon as Yuri swallowed the last bit of his breakfast and chugged down his juice, he grabbed his fiancé's hand and dragged him outside to somewhere they could talk privately. He turned around to look at his dead ringer. "What the heck were you trying to pull in there?!"

Wolfram just folded his arms across his chest and huffed – the Wolframy way. "They're not going to find out with just that act, Yuri."

"But weren't you the one who told me that they're not a bunch of morons?"

"Morons, no; a little dense, yes. Besides, you were the one who kept slipping up."

"Oh yeah, like I was the one who forgot that _I_ couldn't read Demon text!"

"Okay, I admit, it was my fault that I forgot."

"You do? Oh and while we're at this, it was also so darn convenient for you to forget about that dang stupid law!"

"Hey, don't put all the blame on me! Really, Yuri, how could I really think straight that time, huh?" Wolfram replied a little coquettishly.

Yuri blushed at the memory and started to heat up. "F-fine! But next time – don't forget!"

"I won't, my _darling fiancé._"

Yuri cringed, "Don't call me that."

"Oh, so you like wimp better?"

"That's not what I meant." Yuri sighed, "What are we going to do about this? I can't decide which is worse; being stuck in your body my whole life or being stuck with Anissina for five whole years!" Things had definitely gone from bad to worse, and it was only morning! Yuri wanted to throw a temper tantrum, which might not be such a bad idea since Wolfram was already infamous for that.

"I honestly don't know Yuri. Let's think about this tonight, okay? Right now, you have to train the new recruits, but since you're as much of an amateur as they are, I doubt that they'll learn anything. Then you have to go on patrol this afternoon. I wish you all the luck; you're gonna need it, wimp."

"Not as much as you need it signing papers and studying all day!"

"Oh, please. That's marginal labor."

"So you think you're so tough, eh?"

"I _know_ so." Wolfram grinned smugly.

"Let's bet on it then."

"Fine!"

"Whoever doesn't get through this day in one piece sleeps on the floor tonight," Yuri declared holding out his palm.

Wolfram took it and shook Yuri's hand in agreement, making the bet official. "Agreed."

Before they parted, Yuri turned to Wolfram, "Your teacher was Julia right?"

"Yeah, what does it have to do with this?"

"Oh nothing, it's just I'm pretty sure that Gunter's way worse than Julia."

TBC

Notes: If you had trouble picturing Wolfram act as Yuri or vice versa, so did I. I apologize if this isn't as humorous as the first one. I hope I didn't bore you to death with all that conversation. I just needed for them to have enough reason not to tell and this lame thing was the only one I could think of… Sorry :(

Review? Baby, you can be tough. Say enough is enough. You could even be blunt, Just do it with love, love, love, love.


	3. One Heck of a Day

Disclaimer: don't own it.

Warning: POVs change without prior notice with every scene change, so please proceed with caution!

Note: Everyone dies in the end of this chappie, kidding! Reminders again: Wolf is Yuri; Yuri is Wolf… Sorry if the scenes are short and keep changing. I hope you like this chapter, 'cause I'm not so sure about this… :(

My heartfelt gratitude to the following: ajgau1, Death to Haru, Schnickledooger, Sakura Yamazaki, Yuka Hasumi, hannah-asakura, Koji20-kun, phantome101, juntomatsu

Snowglobe, my arse!!!

One Heck of a Day

Gwendal von Voltaire gave the king a discrete side glance. Ever since this morning started, His Majesty had been behaving strangely, very strangely indeed. He wasn't at his usual sunny disposition and ridiculously full optimism. If it wasn't for the black hair, black eyes and black clothes, he'd say the boy was a totally different person. And he was making errors at things he had done so well and with so much ease before, like signing his own name. It was Gunter who noticed that his signature was different; it was a different name even.

"Uh – Your Majesty, you're supposed to put down your name, Sire, and not Wolfram's," the advisor had said.

Gwendal posited that His Majesty and his youngest brother were absolutely head over heels with each other and that could explain the so-called "forgetfulness" with his signature; he could practically feel the sugary sweetness in the atmosphere whenever the couple was together and that made his tooth ache. Even though there was still the same petty arguments and bickering, there were some added kissing and hugging and so much public display of affection. Gwendal only hoped that their relationship had not gone past the cuddly stuff; he worried that cuddling might no longer be enough for the couple and engage into more, how was he to put this… mature acts? After all, they weren't married yet. Call him old-fashioned or too conventional, but that was how he wanted things to be; people shouldn't be involved in things that could end in only hurting themselves (and Gwendal didn't mean anally). The man cringed as the image of his brother underneath the king floated to his consciousness – A, maybe it was the other way around? He shivered as he felt goose bumps rising to his skin and forced the disturbing image out of his mind, suddenly having the strong urge to knit. _Cute things, cute things, cute things… A kitty cat is cute. A! Cute kitty cat, good kitty cat!_

The young boy beside him slammed his fist on the table and muttered something that vaguely sounded like "Wimp!" and kept looking out the window.

His Majesty calling himself a wimp was even stranger. It had been pretty obvious to Gwendal – to the whole castle even – how His Majesty didn't like being called as such by his fiancé and now he was admitting it freely to himself? No matter how amiable the king may be, he would never give in to his younger brother's name calling, though now it may have turned into a sobriquet.

One time or another, the young king had called Gwendal as brother and wondered if the boy was already easing into his role as his future brother-in-law. The older man thought it was probably a good thing, now that His Majesty was taking their engagement with Wolfram a little more seriously unlike before. He really couldn't bear to see his younger brother so hurt again.

By this time, Gunter strut into the room again, another pile of documents cradled in his arms. The king looked at it anxiously and groaned – which was probably the first 'normal' thing he did today.

"Not another one!" the black-haired boy whined. "I'm not even halfway through the first batch you gave me," pointing to the tall stack of papers placed upon his desk.

"I'm terribly sorry, Your Majesty, but since you've been gone, these things just kept piling up," Gunter replied apologetically.

"Hey! I thought it was bro – Gwendal's job to do that while I'm gone!"

Gwendal's eye twitched.

"Lord von Voltaire has been very busy while His Majesty was away," Gunter reasoned.

"Well, it's not my fault why his time management skills are so faulty!"

Gwendal's eye twitched again.

"Uh, maybe we could work something out next time you are sent back to Earth, Your Majesty," the advisor suggested.

"Well, you better. I think my hand is going to fall off from all this writing!"

Gunter could only smile as he made his exit.

Gwendal's eye twitched the third time. This had become his mannerism ever since the young boy was officially proclaimed as Demon King and wondered to himself if he should be blaming a particular king for the minor spastic attacks.

He heard His Majesty mutter something again which was hardly audible to the older man's ears and thought he saw, at the corner of his eye, a flicker of fire dance around the dark boy's finger. In a second, the fire was gone. It was either the king had mastered conjuring up fire or Gwendal's twitchy – and tired – eyes had played a trick on him. The oldest brother thought the latter to be more plausible.

-oOo-

Wolfram stared the mountain of paperwork to be done that day and wondered if it would be _even_ done that day. He had already signed thousands of documents that morning and it seemed like the pile wasn't decreasing at all and even appeared to be growing every time Wolfram turned to look; he was scared that the next time he looked, the amount would double magically. His hand was throbbing and had almost gone stiff from writing down too much and too fast and wondered how Yuri handled this – maybe he was ambidextrous? This wasn't really how he pictured his day would turn out to be. He had been sitting inside Gwendal's office right after breakfast and his butt was starting to fall asleep from sitting down and his legs itched to go outside and just do anything _but_ sit. Right now, he sighed, he seriously considered handing himself over to Anissina just to get away from this, but then if he did, he would suffer a more horrible fate than now. Was there really no getting away from this?

He turned to the arched window and looked outside. From where he sat, he could see Yuri train with the recruits – or at least, try to anyway, and was doing a terrible job of it. For the second time Wolfram looked outside, he saw Yuri fall on his ass for quite a few times already. _That wimp! He's making a fool out of me!_ He saw a soldier offer his hand to help Yuri up and as Yuri grabbed the offered limb, the soldier patted his back, though it didn't look like a friendly pat to Wolfram, oh, no, it didn't! Yuri seemed to pretend that it was just that – a friendly gesture and nothing more. _No, wait! What is that wimp smiling for? He's flirting even when he's me! That cheater, that no good piece of – _He slammed his fist on the table top, albeit gently, worried that the desk might collapse from the weight of the mound of papers. "Wimp," he muttered under his breath.

Returning his attention to the task, he began scribbling down Yuri's name, not bothering to read it. He had stopped reading after the tenth document and majority of the papers were not even worth reading; what does he really care if other countries wanted to trade stern obst with them or farmers wanted to plant klein reis instead of groB reis this year? _Yuri… Shibuya… Harajuku… Furi…_ _There! One down, _he sighed, _and a million more to go!_

Just then Gunter came in, and what a surprise, with even more documents! Wolfram groaned. _Was there no end to this? Somebody just kill me now!_ And Wolfram couldn't help but complain – a lot. The older man beside him just kept twitching and Wolfram wondered what was stressing his older brother so much. _Really, the man should relax every now and then. He looks older than his actual age._

Wolfram looked at the longcase clock standing in front of him, incredulously. _This can't be right! Only twenty minutes had passed since I started? Twenty minutes, and I already feel like I want to die. This is ridiculous! I should just burn this all to hell! That will take care of everything._ As soon as the flame appeared at his fingertip, he let it die. He took a deep breath and tried to pacify himself. _I mustn't let this get to me. I must not!_ Then continued the seemingly never-ending signing of papers.

-oOo-

Lord Conrart Weller watched his younger brother fall to the ground on his butt the sixth time since training started – which was only thirty minutes ago – and wondered why Wolfram was so out of it. He now looked quite awkward holding up his sword and seemed like he had trouble swinging it around. Wolfram was not like this; he would usually disarm his men without even breaking a sweat and not taking more than five steps. And taking into account that these were novices, it would have been way much easier for him. The brunet had thought about approaching the blond or maybe offer some 'tips', but went against it considering his younger brother's easily bruised ego and labile temper that could just as easily flare up; so in the end, all he could really do was just stand at the sidelines and hope to offer a cold compress for the sore bum later.

Wolfram was up again and was on on-guard position, his crouch too low and telling his opponent to attack.

Orange-head trainee looked hesitant and said something, but Wolfram only nodded. The trainee shrugged and lunged. Wolfram's parry was weak, but he blocked the attack anyway, and his sword started to tremble in his hands.

_What is wrong, Wolfram?_ Conrart thought with much concern, his brows knitting together. _Something is definitely not right here._

The riposte was even weaker, hardly sending his opponent stumbling back. Breathing hard, the blond motioned for another trainee, sending the orange-head to join the others waiting for their turn. The trainee ran his fingers through his auburn hair and unsheathed his sword, a small smile on his lips and Conrart had an unsettling feeling wash over him as he looked at that smile.

-oOo-

Yuri felt like his heart was going to blow a fuse from overworking inside his chest, he was completely drenched with sweat from head to toe and his butt hurt from falling too many times. He knew he wasn't doing a very good job with the training – heck, it was probably the lousiest training ever in history, but he couldn't just _not_ train. At least, he'll be giving the new recruits some good exercise. Besides, he was getting the hang of it… or so he thought.

The redhead was smiling at him as he held up his sword, ready to attack or defend. Yuri decided to lunge for it, but the redhead only stepped aside allowing Yuri to brush past him and as he did Yuri could have sworn something graze against his butt cheek – and not so subtly he might add. His butt was starting to numb, but unfortunately he didn't miss the touch. He yelped and turned around to face the culprit.

The other only stared back at him rather innocently as if touching people's ass was the most normal thing in the world.

"Did you just –" Yuri wanted to ask and felt himself redden. He wanted to yell 'Pervert!', but restrained himself and decided to have a little talk with this particular recruit later on. He didn't want to embarrass the soldier in front of everyone. Even though the particular redhead did something vulgar – and to a superior at that, Yuri still had the man's best intentions at heart.

"Yes, My Lord?" the other soldier asked, not even cracking a smile.

Yuri's shoulders slumped. "Nothing. I think we'll have a break," Yuri said, sheathing his sword.

"Take five?"

"No, ten… No! Make it fifteen."

"As you wish, My Lord." Then went off to tell the others.

Yuri headed over to the shaded benches and grabbed the canteen then took a cool swig as he gingerly sat down. _Aah… that surely hits the spot!_ He propped his elbows on his knees and closed his eyes, sighing. _This is going to be one heck of a really long day, _he predicted bitterly. Honestly, he had a tough time being Wolfram and wondered how the blond handled his soldiers hitting on him. Like when training started, he had wondered why the recruit was standing so close to him and only when the new soldier took a sharp intake of breath did Yuri realize that he was sniffing him – so closely. Then when Yuri stumbled to the ground, a soldier helped him up and gave Yuri a little more than a friendly pat on the back; it was practically a caress. For Yuri, the sniffing and the suggestive pat he could handle, but the butt touch? That was going too far; his butt only belonged to his fiancé and no one else. Did Wolfram go through with this every single day? No wonder he was always so grumpy.

"Mind if I join you?"

Yuri opened his eyes and looked at the young redhead who had the nerve to grab him. Now was probably the perfect time to speak to him about his inappropriate behavior, so Yuri nodded and provided a space for him to sit.

"What you did back there, that was not necessary," Yuri spoke as he stared straight ahead.

"My Lord?"

"Oh, don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about," Yuri snapped raising an eyebrow at the other.

"My hand slipped."

"A likely story. You do know, I'm already engaged?"

The new soldier only smiled smugly. "I'm sure he won't mind sharing," he suggested.

Yuri was taken aback. This soldier was just really too bold for his own good. He stood up, and facing the other boy, he braced his fists against his hips and assumed the fiercest glare he could muster. "I will not tolerate such behavior while you're under my command. For cryin' out loud, I'm your superior; you should treat me with respect!"

The redhead only smiled back at him and not the least bit threatened. "Yes, My Lord, it shan't happen again."

Yuri crossed his arms against his chest. "Good." He was feeling uncomfortable again when the other started to trail his eyes along Yuri's body and stopping momentarily at his hips. _I feel like he's undressing me with his eyes. I feel so violated! _With an angry huff, he turned around and stormed off. He really needed to discuss with Wolfram about dismissing one of his soldiers.

-oOo-

Everything had started out as a peaceful patrol, riding on their horses, slowly leading their stallions in the outskirts of the kingdom and looking out for any signs of trouble (that Yuri hoped would not occur) and assessing the condition of the nearby settlements. They were heading back when trouble started brewing. It had been just some petty theft then turned into kidnapping which alarmed the whole town.

Yuri watched as a gruff-looking man wound his burly arm around the neck of a little girl, who was crying very hard, a rusted dagger pointed at her neck. The man looked very desperate and barked at anyone who ever took a step towards him, threatening to kill the child if anyone were to dare lay a finger on him.

A woman was sprawled on the ground a few feet away and sobbing uncontrollably, yelling out, "My baby! My baby! Anyone, please save her!" A basket lay just beside her with the contents spilled on the dirt.

"What's happening?" Yuri asked one of the onlookers.

"That man was caught stealing an apfel. The merchant and a few other men chased him around the market, threatening to kill him if he didn't pay for what he took," the woman said with wide eyes. "And now he's kidnapped the poor little girl. He looks really serious about killing her."

"All this for one single apfel?" he asked to no one in particular. And being the noble man that Yuri was, he stepped forward cautiously.

The kidnapper jerked the girl and drew the blade closer to her throat. The little girl wailed louder. "Stay back!" the man growled.

"Just calm down, mister. We don't need to be so rash with things," Yuri said, trying to soothe the savage beast and taking another cautious step.

"I said, STAY BACK!" The tip of the dagger touched the girl's skin.

The mother looked at the blond pleadingly, "Please don't let him hurt my baby! She's the only family I have left!"

Yuri nodded. "I'll do what I can, ma'am." Then turned his attention back to the kidnapper. "Please let's just talk about this. You don't need to hurt anyone. Just let the girl go." then took another, but smaller, cautious step.

The man's eyes bulged, looking alarmed. He took a step back and reached a wall. "No. I won't go to prison! Go away! Just leave me alone!"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. You see, this girl you're holding right now is needed by her mother and her mother needs her child, too. Would you really willingly take that happiness away and all for a single apfel?"

"I don't care about other people's happiness. Other people never cared about mine; why should I bother with theirs?"

"Really, you're being unreasonable." Then another step forward.

"Don't come any closer. I swear, I'm going to kill her!"

They were only two meters apart now and for the older man, it was too close for comfort. He eyed the younger man's feet, which were now moving towards his direction again. Getting very desperate, he raised the dagger and Yuri could only very well predict his next move.

_Oh no!_

The mother turned away, pained to see his daughter's imminent demise. Gasps could be heard from the crowd which sounded like rushing waves to Yuri's ears.

He saw the blade swoop down in a swift motion and he knew that everyone was holding their breath. However, the knife never made it to the girl's flesh. Everyone looked with relief and disbelief at what had happened. One of Yuri's water dragons was coiled around the man's arm, restraining him from hurting the child.

"What the hell's going on?" the kidnapper asked, looking up at his restrained arm that was holding the weapon. Then turned to Yuri and his jaw went slack. What stood before him was no longer the pretty blond he had been arguing with. It was the same blue uniform, the same sword strapped to the side, the same brown boots but the boy wearing it all had transformed into someone looking completely different, someone with the familiar long black hair and daunting black slit eyes. Pale wildfire spread throughout his body as he held out his arm to the man, who had gone completely slack and was transfixed at the impressive yet intimidating image in front of him. The child tore away from his grasp and ran to the waiting arms of her mother. The dagger he was holding now on the ground by his feet.

"Who – who are you? What are you?" he asked.

"Who or what I am is none of your concern. What you should be more concerned with is your own attitude and values. You dare transgress for the sake of a mere fruit? Then threaten to take other people's love ones and trample on their happiness? It is not my nature to harm individuals but you give me not much choice! Justice be done!"

Water dragons spurted all around the Maou and the look of terror on the man's face could not be denied. Nobody knew how it happened; it may have been the laxity on the Maou's part or the would-be kidnapper had the sudden surge of unbelievable strength, but the abductor got lose from the water dragon's grip and was running away.

"You can never get me you weird freak!" he screamed. He was too busy insulting the Maou that he didn't notice the wooden post he was running into at full speed and slammed right into it. His forehead crashed into the post so hard that the Maou thought he heard the man's skull crack, and then watched as the kidnapper teetered momentarily then fell to the ground, out cold.

The majestic alter ego stood there for a while, thinking about the other's inevitable fate to be knocked down and couldn't help but imagine the bold orange letters K.O. appear in front of the fallen man. "Okay… that's another way to take care of him." He turned to the audience that was gaping at him with awe. "I therefore conclude this mission, accomplished." His eyes gently closed as his dark hair quickly shortened and turned to gold then slumped to the floor.

Soft murmurs could be heard throughout the marketplace as Wolfram's men swiftly rushed to their unconscious commander's side, whispering to themselves. And as they carried the blond to a shady area, they looked at each other.

"What was that?" one of them asked.

Another shook his head and replied, "I have no idea."

"I didn't know Lord von Bielefeld could turn Maou," another one said.

"I didn't either."

"Maybe… maybe his betrothal to the Demon King brought… effects to the Lord."

"You think so?"

A chuckle, "Heck, I don't know what to think."

It was a few minutes later when Yuri came about to the confused faces of soldiers in blue uniforms. He sat up slowly and felt the sudden pain in his head that resulted from the fall he got after transforming to his "old self". His hand flew to the back of his head and rubbed the sore spot. "Ow… did I pass out?" he asked.

The soldiers looked at each other with uncertainty. Finally, one spoke, "My Lord, I'm not really sure, but, um, I think you turned into the Maou."

_Busted! _He could see it now. Him working for Anissina. All the pain. All the torture. But wait… nobody else would know if they kept it their little secret, right? They were his subordinates after all. They would obey him whatever he commanded. "Let's just keep this between us, okay?" Yuri asked.

The soldiers looked unsure again and looked like they were going to protest. Finally, they agreed without question. And despite the requests of his men that Yuri go back, he insisted that he was fine and said that they continue with the patrol. Being subordinates, they had no choice but to conform to the order and mounted their horses to carry on with the patrol, with some escorting the unconscious offender to be sent to prison.

-oOo-

He thought that having Julia as his teacher was terrible – until he became Gunter's student, that is. The man was just too impossible; he expected only perfection and nothing less and taught Wolfram everything he knew down to the littlest details in history, politics, jurisprudence, finance, geography and even etiquette, expecting the boy to take it all into memory in one single afternoon. That was next to impossible! It had been… what, thirty years since he last studied and all the things he had learned had been pushed way, way back into his subconscious where mold and mildew had accumulated and would take more than a while to haul them all back to the conscious. The man just went on and on, completely oblivious that his student's ears were going to fall off. Honestly, had Gunter ever heard the words 'information overload'? He was supposed to be a teacher, that shouldn't be foreign to him! The normal attention span of a person was only two hours but, apparently, Gunter didn't know that either, because they have been at this for the past four hours, without even a little break.

Concentrating on the topic discussed was already too difficult; _pretending_ to concentrate had become equally difficult too. Wolfram stifled a yawn. He didn't want to appear like he was slacking off; he didn't want Gunter's wrath to befall upon him again, so he just stared at their makeshift board not even caring anymore what was really written on it.

He shifted in his seat. His butt was starting to fall asleep again. And his ears were ringing. _Yuri goes through with this everyday? How does he ever get through with it? How did he handle Gunter? Why was Gunter appointed as the royal educator? Why? WHY? WHY!? I want Julia back!!!_

"Your Majesty, are you paying attention?"

He sat up in attention, "Yes!"

"Then, I shall proceed..." he cleared his throat and continued with the discussion, "Increasingly in civil-law countries, the subtleties of judicial interpretation…"

Wolfram groaned softly, making sure that Gunter wouldn't hear it.

-oOo-

Lord von Christ shut the book with one hand and said the words that Wolfram had been dying to hear since three hours ago, "… Well, that concludes our discussion on substantive and procedural law..."

_Thank Shinou! _Wolfram quickly stood up and headed to the door. "Well, see you later then."

"Where are you heading off to, Your Majesty?"

"Outside. We are done… aren't we?"

"No, Sire. We still have two more hours of study time."

Wolfram's legs wobbled and almost gave way. _Two hours?_ _I can't bear to stay in this hell hole for another minute, let alone two hours!_ "Uh, I'm just gonna go… have a drink of water. I'll be right back." Then quickly dashed out, without the plans of ever going back.

"But, Your Majesty! There's a pitcher of water on your desk!"

Wolfram wasn't listening. He needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He was running – walking briskly, rather – to his and Yuri's room to hide – to think, actually, because real men don't hide, when somebody called to him, well, it was Yuri's name, but since he was Yuri for the time being, then that was also his name for the time being. _For the time being_, hopefully.

"Conrart."

Lord Weller looked at him with surprise. "What did you call me, Your Majesty?"

"I mean, Conrad. Sorry."

The brunet smiled and handed him something – that looked like a brown leather glove. Wolfram just stared down at it, wondering for a while about the familiar looking object.

"Would you like to play a little game of catch, Your Majesty?" And then revealing the ball in his other hand. "It's almost time for your break anyway."

Not really thinking, he nodded absently, still looking at the glove on his hand. It didn't register in his mind what Conrart had meant about 'play a little game of catch' until they were out in the open and his brother was widening the gap between them. _Wait a minute! Did he expect me to play that game called baseball? He must be kidding. I'm not… oh, wait! I am Yuri! But I don't have a single clue how to play this damn thing!_

"Ready?" Conrart called out a few meters away.

Wolfram was shaking his head when he spotted the ball hurling towards his face. _Oh shit!_ He dodged, the ball missing him by a few inches, and watched as it rolled away into a bush.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

"What do you mean? You almost hit me!"

Conrart looked apologetic. "I'm sorry if my pitch was too fast."

_Was he insinuating that I couldn't catch that ball, because it was too fast for me? I can play this game. Please! How hard could a mere catching and throwing be? I'll show him._ He went after the ball and ran his fingers through it, feeling it in his hand. _Yeah, I can do this. This is child's play._ Feeling a wave of confidence, he gripped the ball firmly and threw it to his brother. However, it only landed about three quarters away and rolled into Conrart's waiting glove.

Picking the ball up, he looked into his godson's face and said, "Throw it a little harder, this time." then threw back the ball and Wolfram had to fetch it again as it rolled into the same bush.

He pitched harder, but the angle was off this time and hit a tree then ricocheted into a statue, severing an arm. _Oops._ They ran over to the injured statue. Wolfram crouched, picking up the arm and studying the extent of the damage; it was not so bad, they could probably put some glue on it and no one would know the difference.

Conrart chuckled as he picked up the ball. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. That has been crumbling away for the last two decades. Let's just tell them it was an accident, okay?" Handing the ball back to black-haired boy, he said, "Why don't you try again. You seem to be out of practice today."

They assumed their positions and Wolfram threw the ball. This time it was thrown too high and hit a kohi sitting by the rooftop, the bones collapsing with a clatter. The others sitting beside it instinctively flew away. _Stupid kohi. He's in the way._ They waited for a few seconds for the skeleton to regenerate itself and return the ball to them. After handing it to the brunet, it didn't bother to sit around anymore, fearing that it might still be the next unwilling target.

Conrart's brows furrowed, looking at his godson and said, "Maybe we should play some other time, Your Majesty. I don't think –"

Feeling impatient, Wolfram yelled, "Just throw the ball Lord – er, Conrad!"

The older brother looked hesitant for a second before pitching the ball and it was no surprise that the other was not able to catch it, as it rolled to the same bush again. The younger picked it up and ran back to his spot then threw the ball and, again it was no surprise that the pitch was completely off, went straight to a glass window with a loud crash. They didn't have to wonder for long whose window it had crashed through, because Gwendal's loud and angry voice rang through the atmosphere.

"CONRAAART!!!"

After much reprimanding from the oldest brother, they had to relocate themselves to a part of the grounds where there were fewer windows that faced it, thus the less chance of breaking one.

"The old tip for catching a ball always applies, Your Majesty. Just keep your eyes on the ball," Conrart suggested and prepared another pitch.

_Okay, keep your eyes on the ball. Keep your eyes on the ball. _He saw his older brother swing his arm and watched the white sphere leave his hand as it flew over to his direction. _Eyes on the ball. Eyes on the ball._ _Then what? When do I raise my glove? When do I catch it? _Before he could respond, the ball hit him squarely at his right eye. "Ow!" Wolfram felt his right eyeball being pushed way back into the socket, as he covered the injury with his hand and wondered if his right eye was going to see ever again.

Conrart was frantic as he rushed to His Majesty's side. "Your Majesty, I am terribly sorry! We should go see – I mean, consult Giesela right away."

Wolfram gave his brother a one-eyed glare, but followed the brunet to the infirmary anyway.

Fortunately, it was nothing an ice pack couldn't handle.

-oOo-

Yuri was beat. He was dog-tired. Not to mention completely worn-out. It was tough being Wolfram and Yuri did not have any idea how the blond could have so much energy to bother him during evenings or to "fool around" after having a day like this. The prince was probably just too stubborn to listen to his exhausted body. As he approached his room, he saw Conrart leaving who spotted him in the hallway.

"Hello Wolfram. Heading off to supper?" his godfather asked.

"Nah. I think I'll just hit the hay. I'm pretty tired."

"Oh, I see. His Majesty's in there, too, resting. He has had a… pretty rough day."

"Him, too, huh?"

"I assume, your day didn't go so well either?"

"One of the worst days, actually," Yuri replied frankly as he rubbed the small of his back.

The older man nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Well, you better get some rest then. Goodnight." Then turned to leave.

"Goodnight Lord Weller."

Conrart stalled for a moment without turning around then continued to walk away.

When Yuri entered, Wolfram was sprawled on the mattress with something sitting on his face and didn't even look up when the king entered.

Yuri dropped down on the bed beside the other, feeling the softness of it underneath his weight. _Aah… this is heaven…_ He turned his head and looked at the black-haired boy beside him, finally realizing that it was an ice pack sitting on his face, right eye to be more precise. He seemed to be unmoving. "Wolf?"

"Mm?"

"What happened to you?"

Wolfram lifted his right arm to take off the pack off his face and looked at Yuri, revealing a swollen right eye.

Yuri jumped. "Holy Moly! What did you do to my eye? Did you have a fistfight with somebody – and lose?"

Wolfram replaced the pack, returning his arm to his sides. "Conrart and I were playing baseball and hit me with the ball."

"What?" To Yuri, somehow the whole statement was completely wrong. "When did you ever play baseball – and with Conrad! Why did he hit you with the ball? Did you have a fight?" Though, it seemed to Yuri, even if his godfather fought with his younger brother, Yuri didn't think Lord Weller would resort to such violent ways, no matter how much he would lose his temper – most especially not with his kin.

"I had to play. I felt like he was mocking me."

"You know, for a brother, even a half-brother, you don't know him that much, do you? Conrad's not like that."

"Whatever." It was apparent that the demon was not up for arguing. He just kept lying on the bed, unmoving, other than his lips.

"So what did you do? You hit him or something and he decided to… hit you back on the eye with the ball?"

"No, dimwit," the prince said unenthusiastically. He had meant it as a sharp insult, but it didn't come out as he had planned. "He told me to keep my eyes on the ball."

"Wolf, just because he told you to keep your eyes on the ball, doesn't actually mean the two would have to make contact. It means –"

"I know what it means. Now will you please shut up? You're making my headache worse… and my hand hurts," he said lifting his right hand to look at it – the one he had been using to sign Yuri's name over and over again. "And on top of that, I don't think I can still feel my butt after sitting for practically the entire day."

"Is that all? I feel like my back is going to break into two. I hurt all over. And I'm emotionally scarred," Yuri complained as he remembered the little incident with training that morning.

"You're such a wimp."

"Don't call me that."

"'Kay, wimp."

Yuri sighed. He felt too tired to argue about that right now. "Some of the new recruits kept hitting on me this morning."

"Uh-huh. You enjoyed it, I bet."

"Wolf!" Yuri whined. "Besides, when you look at it, they're actually hitting on you. I think you need to go through with the list again. There are some who needs to be laid off."

Wolfram sighed, still unmoving. "Yuri, they've been picked because they're considered as one of the best. I'm not – I can't lay them off just because of that reason alone."

"Oh, come on! I'm sure you can find more and even better," then added softly, "and are not such pervs." When the other didn't bother to respond, he muttered loudly enough for the other to hear, "One grabbed my butt – rather your butt. No one should be touching them but me."

A short silence ensued. Just when Yuri thought that the other had fallen asleep, Wolfram whispered, "I'll see what we can do about that."

Yuri only smiled as he closed his eyes, on the verge of falling asleep. He thought about telling the prince about the little incident that afternoon in the marketplace but didn't think it was so important, so he didn't say anything. He was drifting off into unconsciousness when he heard his voice wafting through the room, rather softly. "Hey, Yuri. Didn't we have a bet this morning?"

Yuri mumbled a "Mm…nmm…" He honestly couldn't comprehend what Wolfram meant; he was just too exhausted to even think about anything. He felt something poke at his ribs.

"Hey, wimp! Wake up! You lost the bet. You're supposed to sleep on the floor."

_What do you mean I lost? What bet?_ Yuri wanted to say, but what came out was "Hunnm… unnm… mmm…?"

Wolfram sighed. "Whatever wimp."

The king felt the body beside him shift on the bed and sensed the covers draped over him, then an arm encircled around his waist. He heard Wolfram mumble something again and as he snuggled even closer he whispered something in his ear.

"Love you, Yuri."

Now that Yuri could understand.

-oOo-

Conrart Weller had seen so many things in his life; some were frightening, many were beautiful, not so much strange things – many of which he understood and the others that he didn't, he never bothered about them and _they _never bothered him back. But there was one thing about this particular day that nagged him to the point of sleeplessness. His Majesty and Wolfram. They were acting entirely different today. Were they still at that exchanging viewpoints thing that Wolfram claimed that His Majesty suggested? Or was there something else that was up? Because if they were still at that little relationship therapy, then they were pretty damn good at it; they were totally into it that Conrart didn't know if he should be glad for the couple or just plain worried.

Yuri was completely terrible at baseball and was worse than any amateur he had ever known. Conrart thought maybe Yuri was troubled with something and couldn't concentrate on the game, but what gave the boy away was when his godfather kept calling him by his title and not even once did his godson tell him off about it. Yuri always told his godfather to call him by his given name, no matter how troubled he was – _especially_ when he's troubled. The casuality between the two gave comfort to the boy, Conrart knew that, but this time the "It's Yuri" or "Don't call me Your Majesty, Conrad" didn't come.

Wolfram was another case. Not only did his swordsmanship do a nosedive that morning, but the younger brother was actually talking to his half-human older brother in more than grunts, huffs and cusses. And the fact that Wolfram had greeted him a goodnight with much regard was the strangest thing that happened to Conrart that day.

Then a thought hit the brunet with full force. Could they have…? They couldn't… But maybe they did. There was no other explanation… Perhaps Anissina had been wrong concerning her prime suspect after all…

TBC

Note: stern obst, klein reis, groB reis and apfel are German terms; if anyone speaks the language and find that they're wrong, apologies for my poor attempts. :)

**Reviews? Lay it to me gently…**


	4. Of farming and Lord what's his name?

Disclaimer: I don't own KKM or the other things mentioned in this chapter.

Warning: Contains languages not suitable for general audience. Parental guidance is advised.

Prologue: This chapter (like the previous) consists of short scenes which constantly change. POVs also change without prior notice but it's just Wolf's and Yuri's (no Conrart's, Gwen's, etc…). Once again Wolf is Yuri and Yuri is Wolf. I also realize that in the English version, Wolfram's last name ends with a T, but I'm using the D version because I like it better… :)

My deepest appreciation to the following: ajgau1, maple 2839, phantome101, BluePhoenix, addictedtoyaoi, Knight of Caeli, Sakura Yamazaki, Hannah-asakura, Maeleene, renai and sheia, Zero Assoluto 18, Cj

Cj: here it is here it is here it is. Thanks for the R&R:)

Snowglobe, my arse!!!

Of farming and Lord… What's his name?

Wolfram awoke to his face with a start and wondered if he was dreaming – again. Then eventually relaxed as everything came back to him. At first, the whole ordeal seemed so surreal to him, like a terribly vivid dream, but now the truth was weighing down on him and didn't think he could take another day pretending to be Yuri. It was definitely hard for the prince to act so nice when all he wanted to do was lash out great balls of fire and send everyone to eternal damnation.

He touched his right eye where he had been hit with a ball yesterday. The swelling had disappeared but there was still slight pain.

The blond head beside him stirred. A pajama-clad arm circled around Wolfram's waist and pulled him closer. Yuri nuzzled the prince's neck and moaned with pleasure. "Mmm… nice," Yuri murmured, still half asleep and started planting little kisses up Wolfram's neck, to his jaw then to the corner of his lips.

Wolfram just lay on the bed and didn't know if he should respond to the affection or not. It was odd to see someone else kiss him, even if that someone was himself. Finally when the kiss reached his lips, he closed his eyes and tried to think of Yuri's face. _I guess it's not so bad when I close my eyes._ When the kiss stopped, he opened his eyes to the baffled expression of his fiancé. They pulled apart.

Yuri seemed to be thinking as he looked at himself then said, "Okay… that was weird. Let's not do that again."

"I agree."

"Are you going to breakfast?" Yuri asked as he sat up looking down at Wolfram.

Wolfram curled on bed as he pulled the covers up to his chin. "I don't want to go out there. Yesterday was hell; I don't think I can take another day like that again."

Yuri flopped back down on the bed and spread his arm across. "Me either… Let's just call in sick for today."

"Then what? We can't stay in bed forever."

"Maybe if we stay here long enough we can think of a good solution to this whole mess."

"Maybe we should just tell Anissina," Wolfram suggested weakly. "I mean, what's the worst she could do?"

"Uh… We could die a horrible death in that godforsaken room. We might never see the light of day ever again! Not to mention suffer days and days of excruciating torture!"

"But at least we're ourselves."

"Somehow that doesn't diminish my fear. Maybe you'll survive; you're a demon. Demons have unbelievable stamina. I'll give myself a year before Anissina gets the better of me."

"You're that scared of her?"

"Who doesn't? Even Gwendal's scared of her. Are you saying you aren't?"

"Scared would be a little too intense of a word. Maybe wary."

"Right," Yuri replied sarcastically.

Wolfram didn't reply and let silence settle into the room. But it wasn't long before they were disturbed as the doors flew open and a whirlwind of brown hair jumped into their bed.

"Yuri! I haven't seen you all day yesterday!" Greta exclaimed, tugging on the covers. "Breakfast is ready. Can we go – um, Yuri? Why are you wearing Wolfram's dress?"

Yuri snickered beside them.

Wolfram glared at their daughter as he sat up. "This is not a dress! It's called a nightshirt."

"But you look really nice in it. Kinda like the doll that Anissina made for me."

He crossed his arms across his chest. "Of course I look nice in it."

Yuri could only roll his eyes. "Good Morning, Greta. You're up early today."

"Good Morning, Wolfram. I wanted to see you and Yuri before you start wandering off for today. Oh, you look nice in Yuri's PJs by the way."

Yuri smiled. "Thanks."

Greta was now pulling on Wolfram's arm. "Let's go. I'm starving! After breakfast, let's go out and play! Can we go to town and buy some bonbon apfel? I promise I'll brush my teeth after –"

The prince chuckled, "Okay! Okay!" he knelt down to be at eye level with his daughter. "Can we at least get changed first?"

Greta nodded then started skipping out of the room. "Of course, you wouldn't want to go out there wearing a dress."

"I told you –" but Greta was already out of earshot. He sighed as he shook his head. He turned around and saw Yuri trying his very best holding back a laugh. "Shut up, wimp!"

Yuri held up his hands, still on the verge of laughing. "I didn't say anything!"

"Whatever!" Then proceeded to change.

-oOo-

Everyone was already gathered at the table and Yuri and Wolfram finally remembered their places. Breakfast had just started when Anissina barged in again, bringing with her the broken invention that she placed gingerly on the table. Yuri could only stare at it with wide eyes as everyone stopped chewing and turned to look. His daughter was exceptionally excited upon seeing another one of Anissina's gadgets; her eyes were practically twinkling.

"Exhibit A. I-am-such-a-loser-and-my-life-sucks-and-I-want-yours-so-lets-exchange-because-I-think-you-have-a-better-life-than-mine-kun. Recovered yesterday morning lying on the floor of my closet in my lab." She pointed to a surface of the glass that was cracked, "See this broken crystal? Res ipsa loquitur. The thing speaks for itself. It's evidence that it has been tampered with. One doesn't have to be as smart as me to know that." Then crossed her arms across her chest as she glared at Gwendal from across the table.

Blue eyes glared back. "Why are you looking at me like that for?" he barked.

"Come on, Gwen. Guilt is written all over your wrinkles! What is the point in prolonging the verdict? The sooner we get over it, the better, don't you think? Five years will pass by like a breeze. I promise I'll make it easy for you," she said smirking.

"But I did not do it!" Gwendal yelled. Everyone winced except for the redhead girl, who only grinned wider.

"We'll see…" she said turning the big snowglobe thing-like upside down. Yuri watched with amazement how she could handle something so bulky with so much ease. Anissina pointed to a switch, the switch that Yuri had carelessly turned on. He swallowed hard and wondered if Anissina was capable of extracting fingerprints from crime scenes. "Exhibit B. The switch has been turned to ON mode, meaning that someone indeed touched this baby and didn't just knock it to the ground by accident, like you all might be thinking."

"But why would anyone want to touch that… that _thing_?" Gunter asked.

"This is not a _thing_. This baby's called I-am-such-a-loser-and-my-life-sucks-and-I-want-yours-so-lets-exchange-because-I-think-you-have-a-better-life-than-mine-kun. Why, you ask, would anyone want to touch this precious? That brings us to exhibit C!"

"Oh! Which is?" Gunter asked, truly amused by their mock legal proceeding.

Anissina pointed a slender yet accusing finger at dark-haired, blue-eyed man. "Gwendal von Voltaire," she said with a vengeance.

The man choked and dropped his spork yet again. After chugging down some mouthfuls of water, he slammed the glass on the table, hard. "I did not do it! Just because I acted so juvenile before doesn't mean I broke your You-are-such-a-loser-and-I-hate-you –"

"It's actually I-am-such-a-loser-and-my-life-sucks-and-I-want-yours-so-lets-exchange-because-I-think-you-have-a-better-life-than-mine-kun."

"Whatever! You don't have any solid enough evidence to place me under such suspicions!"

"You've got shifty eyes that keep twitching," the girl said matter-of-factly.

Conrart, Gunter and Greta chuckled while Yuri and Wolfram shifted uneasily on their seats.

"That's it? You need more evidence than that, Anissina."

However, the redhead's confidence did not waver and continued to grin, which, to Yuri, was very, very disturbing. Very disturbing indeed.

"Exhibit D; just as the name goes I-am-such-a-loser-and-my-life-sucks-and-I-want-yours-so-lets-exchange-because-I-think-you-have-a-better-life-than-mine-kun, two individuals can literally step into other people's shoes, but since dear Gwen here was on a solo mission –"

"Why do you keep insisting that I did it?!" Gwendal interrupted but the girl ignored his comment.

"– no exchange happens of course, so I guess… there's no exhibit D," Anissina frowned, "because Gwen's still his old grumpy self. But either way, when activated with a partner or in isolation, the subject still manifests the same adverse effects hours after…" then let the sentence hang.

"And which is?" Gwendal asked for the sake of asking, not really interested on the current discussion.

"Aha! Why are you so concerned my dear friend? Are you scared?"

"Forget I asked!" the man bellowed exasperatedly.

"Anissina, what's the converse effect?" Greta asked, now completely engrossed in the topic.

The redhead turned to the little girl and smiled lovingly, "Adverse effect, my dear." Then scanned the faces on the table of which the only smiles that could be found were on Conrart and Greta. Greta's of fascination and Conrart's of amusement, the others were of anxiety and a glare. "That leads us to exhibit E…" she picked up her invention and cradled it in her arms. "… which you will all soon find out," then made her exit.

_Adverse effect? _Yuri thought apprehensively. _What adverse effect? And why won't Anissina tell us!?_

Everyone just stared at the closed door in silence. They heard a muffled conversation at the other side of the door and the doors were pushed open again.

"Good Morning!" the Grate Sage greeted cheerily then stopped as he became aware of everyone's stare. "Did I miss something?"

As each one of them was shaken out of their trance-like state, Gwendal huffed, "Anissina."

-oOo-

Yuri scanned the faces of his – well, Wolfram's – trainees. They were looking back at him expectantly and Yuri was glad that he was not going to make a fool of himself today like he did yesterday morning, because today he had a plan. It was a good plan, a fool-proof plan, it was the perfect plan he could think of. After all, he was the Great Demon Kingdom's Demon King that was endowed with much intelligence. He might not be brawny, but he was brainy!

"Men!" Yuri started and all of them stood on attention, their focus suddenly on the blond, who had become so authoritative in front of them. "Today, we will develop one of the most important yet basic skills of survival. The one thing that most of us have overlooked to train on. Today, we will run!"

Yuri could feel their skeptic eyes on him, but he was fully confident with his plan, his fool-proof plan. "We will not only develop our stamina but also our quadriceps and – other leg muscles."

"But My Lord –" one soldier started to say but stopped. "S-sorry, My Lord. I didn't mean –"

"No, no. It's perfectly okay. I give you the permission to speak freely."

The other looked hesitant, but continued on anyway. "I don't mean to question your authority, My Lord, but wouldn't sparring be a better form of training? I mean, we also develop our stamina and quadriceps and – other leg muscles, not to mention we can also improve our sword fighting skills."

Yuri held up his forefinger. "Yes, I see your point, but what if you are disarmed in battle?"

"We use our magic, My Lord," the other boy answered without even thinking twice.

"Of course, but what if you are in human land? You can't use magic in human land."

"Well, we are also trained in hand-to-hand combat," he answered straightforwardly.

"Okay…" Yuri was running out of excuses for them to have the run. "What if… you broke your arms in the process? What will you do then?"

"Both my arms?"

"Yes, both of them. You can't engage in hand-to-hand combat without a hand."

The apprentice scratched his head then slowly replied, "Well, I guess running is a good exercise, after all." Then smiled sheepishly.

Yuri smiled back. "I'm glad you're finally seeing it from my viewpoint. Well then, shall we get started?" And as they formed their lines, Yuri said, "All right. We'll run alongside the curtain wall of the castle –"

"For how long?" one of them asked.

_Until training is over._ "After a few rounds…" Yuri answered safely, not specifying exactly how many rounds they were going to run.

All of them just nodded and started the sprint with Yuri following close behind them. By the third round, he was out of breath, but when he looked at the trainees ahead of him, they didn't even seem to have broken into a sweat.

_What kind of mentor was Wolfram? These people were running machines! Demon machines!_

Finally, when his lungs couldn't take it any longer, he leaned against the wall and called to them, "I'll catch up with you later, okay? _Pant_ – I'll just – _pant –_ take a rest for a while."

-oOo-

_Yuri is making a fool out of me again! _Wolfram thought as he watched them run along the wall of the castle through the same arched window he had been peering through yesterday in Gwendal's office, though now it had a hole in it from their little "accident" the day before. His older brother would scowl whenever he turned his head to the window and see the outcome of Wolfram's first baseball game, but Wolfram didn't think it was so terrible. After all, it did provide a little breeze to the stuffy room they occupied.

_What the hell is he doing? _Wolfram mused. _Why do they keep running around like that? Is this what he calls training? That wimp! He's teaching them how to run? What in the world are they going to learn from that? He's teaching them how to be wimp, that's what! A wimp, just like him. I should just go over there –"_

"Hey, Shibuya! Hello!" The Great Sage's voice broke off Wolfram's thoughts.

"What!" the prince snapped as Murata put a hand on his shoulder which he quickly withdrew when Wolfram spun around to glare at the Great Sage.

"Whoa! Chill out. I didn't mean to intrude your little reverie there."

"I wasn't daydreaming," Wolfram snapped again. "I was merely assessing the progress of Yu – Wolfram's daily training."

Murata brusquely plopped down on the soft cushion of the nearest mahogany chair. "Oh, is that what you call it? By the sour look on your face, you don't seem happy with what you're seeing. Would you like it better if it were just you and Wolfram out there getting all sweaty?" he asked with a slight teasing in his voice.

Wolfram stared at the other in disbelief. Was this they way they talked when he and Yuri were alone together? How positively debauched. "I beg your pardon?"

With a listless wave of his hand, Murata said, "Nothing, I was just kidding. You seem so uptight today. You and Wolfram have a fight? Was he the one who gave you that bruise on your eye?"

_Did he really think I'm that violent?_ "I'm – My fiancé is such a gentle person. He didn't and would never do this to me. You think so poorly of him, Great Sage."

Murata raised his brows as he looked at the double-black in front of him for a few seconds. "When did you start calling me that?"

"Sorry… Makina."

"What?"

"I mean, Mokona."

"Huh?"

_Shit! What was his name again? I know it starts with an M. Madona… Mufasa… Mucosa… M… M… M…_

"It's Mu. Ra. Ta."

"Right, Mutara."

"Murata!"

"Got it! Got it."

He sighed. "I can't believe you forgot my name. How long have we been friends anyway?"

"Apparently, not long enough."

Murata smirked as if he was aware of some secret that nobody else knew then took a deep breath before he started. "Shibuya, before you start your day you should probably clear your head from all the naughty things that transpire between you and Wolfram within the confines of your room at night. You don't want to make any mistakes and might sign a declaration of war without even knowing it."

Wolfram felt himself blush. "What do you mean 'naughty'? We are not doing anything of that sort," he denied.

"Aha! So it is true!" the Great Sage exclaimed, pointing a finger at the other double-back in front of him who blushed even deeper.

"Have you lost all your senses? I just said –"

"I know what you said but your red face tells me a different story. You don't have to deny it. I know you've been getting it on."

"Getting what on?"

"I can practically smell the hot, steamy se –"

Wolfram waved his hands in front of Murata's face. "Shush! Don't say it out loud. Someone could hear you. Bro – Gwendal doesn't approve of this."

The Great Sage laughed. "I was just teasing you. I didn't think you'd actually admit it!" then doubled over with laughter.

_You conniving little bastard! _Wolfram sighed in defeat. "Fine! There's no point in denying it now, but you mustn't breathe a word of this to anyone. Not a single word."

When Murata's laugh finally died down, he held up his right palm. "Mum's the word. Don't worry." Leaning back against the chair, he put his hand on his chin. "So…"

"'So' what?" Wolfram asked with a raised brow.

"So no wonder you look tired. Wolfram's been wearing you down at night!"

The prince felt himself blush again. "I am not – Wolfram's not wearing me down!"

"He must have plowed you like a farmer, eh?"

Wolfram cringed at the Great Sage's coarse words. "He did not – plow me like a farmer."

"Oh, I see!" Murata exclaimed as he slapped his palm on his thigh. "You are doing all the plowing!"

"What!?"

"I didn't think you were so aggressive. I never really thought you got it in you."

"Oh, shut up!"

Murata laughed softly. "Looks like the skeletons are finally out of the closet."

Wolfram's brows furrowed at the sudden change of topic as he looked around the room, trying to spot the skeletons that the Great Sage was talking about. "Huh? Where?"

The other double-black rolled his eyes. "Geez, Shibuya! It means the secret's out! What's the matter with you today? Okay, you need to have a serious talk with Wolfram! No more fooling around at night; you need your rest! Try to be more aggressive in other areas, too, okay?"

"Whatever!" _I can't believe I'm talking about such personal issues and with Mu… Mu… with the Great Sage! We're not even on the same wavelength._ "Did you have a purpose for coming over here or did you just suddenly have the urge to get on our nerves today?"

"My, my. Aren't we a little testy. Can't I just visit my friend once in a while? Or is the king too busy now?"

Wolfram sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just that… I'm not myself today." _Literally!_ "So how's the temple?" the prince asked hoping to divert the flow of the conversation to a less intimate topic.

"Ugh! The temple maidens are such slave drivers!" Murata whined, "I mean, I'm not even done with one chore and they drag me off to another! And the doors in that temple seem to keep falling off their door jambs and all the walls in there seem to have all kinds of holes. And I think I'm starting to feel sick from all that paint fumes. Oh, and the fountain? Everyday I clean it and it is still covered with moss! It's unbelievable! Sometimes, no, _most of the time_ I don't feel like I'm the Great Sage, just a freakin' caretaker."

"Well… at least you're being needed."

Murata sighed. "I wish they'd need me in some other ways."

"Either way, you're indispensable to them," Wolfram provided as a means of comforting words.

"Great! That makes me feel so much better," he said sarcastically. "Oh, hey! Don't tell Ulrike about this. She'll bite my head off."

The prince gave the Great Sage a lopsided smile. "I'll shut my mouth if you shut yours."

Murata smiled back. "Is Gwendal really that fearsome? I always thought the Shibuyas were tough and could face any form of danger. Can you imagine Shori and Miko cowering?" Murata placed his hand on his chin again and seemed to be in deep thought. "Hmm… maybe Shoma…"

"Gwendal's not really that fearsome; he already looked that way when he was born. And for Yuri maybe he's an exception in his family. He's just not comfortable if anyone would know about this. I don't know, maybe he's shy or something. Or maybe he's just a little conservative. Yuri just needs time, I think."

The other nodded thoughtfully and murmured, "I see." With a sigh, he stood up and headed over to Wolfram and patted him on the back. "Shibuya, when you start referring to yourself in third person, it's high time that you get your head checked, my friend. That could be a sign of impending psychosis."

_Damn! I forgot – again!_ "Uh, right. Maybe I should." Wolfram laughed weakly. "I really have to get started with these papers before Gwendal comes back and sees that I'm not doing what I should be doing."

Murata waved his hand as he headed out the door. "I know when I'm not needed. See you at lunch then."

"Yeah, see you." Wolfram was relieved to be alone again.

-oOo-

While they waited for the others to arrive for lunch, Yuri watched Wolfram look at Murata across the lunch table with his brows raised and the king couldn't help but feel like something happened while he had gone running outside that morning. The Great Sage was looking innocent, but he was anything _but_ innocent. He always has something brewing at the back of his mind which was not always good.

The bespectacled double-black shifted his eyes to Yuri. There was something in the way that the Great Sage looked at him that made him uneasy. Murata showed no expression, but Yuri knew that deep down inside of the other double-black, he was smirking, Yuri was sure of that. He knew his friend all too well.

"So Murata, what brings you here?" Yuri asked, the uneasy feeling never leaving him.

The Great Sage's eyes brightened. "Wolfram, you remember my last name."

"Of course, we've known each other for quite some time. I should know your name by now."

"Funny, 'cause this morning a friend of mine for a couple of years failed to remember it."

Yuri turned to Wolfram at the head of the table. "Did he now?"

"Hey, I had a lot of things on my mind! Give me a break, okay?" Wolfram snapped.

"Oh, I'm sure you did," Murata replied playfully as he winked. "I'm sure those _things_ you keep thinking of keep you up at night, too."

Wolfram glared at him, his eyes narrowing hostilely.

Yuri looked from Wolfram then to Murata then back to Wolfram again. "Is there something that I should know about? Because there is definitely something going on here."

"Nothing!" they both said in unison as they simultaneously broke the gaze from each other.

A short silence settled in the room when Murata spoke again. "Hey, Wolfram, did you know that Shibuya has now a thing for farming?" then laughed as he dodged a flying spork that was thrown violently at him.

"What?" Yuri asked. _I knew that Murata was weird, but he's even weirder when he's asking off the wall questions like that. _"Oh, you mean gardening?"

Murata shook his head after picking up the spork. "No. He likes plowing – whoa!" he dodged another spork flying in his direction.

"Um… really? I don't think I'm following you."

"Don't worry about following me. You should worry about your own fields." The Great Sage was already ducking when he spotted the other double-black pick up someone else's spork.

Yuri stopped his fiancé from hurling the silverware. "Okay, no more throwing stuff!"

"Shibuya, relax! I was just teasing you. You don't have to be so… aggressive." Then broke into laughter again.

"That's it!" Wolfram said, finally reaching the end of his line as he slammed his palms on the table and stood up, his chair almost falling backwards to the floor. He picked up a knife and pointed it at the laughing Great Sage. "Is this what you want? You're just begging me to throw this knife, aren't you?"

"No! No duel!" Yuri exclaimed in alarm as he grabbed hold of Wolfram's hand that was holding the knife. "There's really no need for violence in here."

"Yeah, because there's enough of it happening at night, if you know what I mean!" Murata exclaimed.

"What? Murata, what are you talking about?" Yuri asked.

"I swear, I'm going to kill you!" Wolfram yelled as he lunged for the Great Sage across the table, sending all types of silverware falling to the ground with a loud noise.

Yuri was trying his best to restrain his fiancé from killing the Great Sage as he grabbed Wolfram's shoulders and tried to pull him back to his seat. "Wolf – er, Yuri, don't kill him. Shinou'll be really mad at us!"

Wolfram was already sprawled across the top of the table, trying to reach for Murata who was just sitting on his seat not even looking worried that someone wanted him dead. "Mum's the word, huh!? I'll rat out on Ulrike about you! I'll make sure she'll make you work your ass off for the next century!"

"Hey! I was just kidding! Wolfram didn't even get it!" Murata defended.

"Great Sage!!!" Wolfram growled with vengeance.

"Yuri!" Yuri warned his fiancé and wondered if the other was even listening.

They were making such a scene that they did not notice anyone come in and only when Gwendal's voice echoed throughout the hall did they became aware of another presence.

"Ladies! Break it up!" the oldest brother bellowed as he stared at the sorry state of the room.

Wolfram let Yuri guide him back to his seat and straightened out his black shirt then crossed his arms across his chest with a loud huff. Yuri sat back down and looked at Gwendal expecting the oldest brother's head to explode any minute, but it didn't. Gwendal just sighed as he rubbed his forehead and headed to his seat, trying not to step on any silverware that was in his way.

"Gwendal, are you okay?" Yuri asked, deeply concerned why the older man had remained silent and wasn't reprimanding them of their childish behavior.

Gwendal sighed again, "Just dandy."

Gunter followed into the room and took one look at the room. "Oh my. What happened here?"

"Nothing. We were just talking about agriculture," the Great Sage replied.

"Great Sage, I didn't know you would be joining us for lunch."

"I thought I'd stay longer. It's been some time since I've visited here. I hope you don't mind."

Gunter strode to his seat. "I don't mind at all. We're honored to have you for lunch."

"Lord von Christ, I didn't know you were a cannibal," Murata joked.

"Speaking of eating, we're invited to a little party tonight," Gunter said not sounding very happy. "It's sort of an engagement party."

"Oh? Whose?" Yuri asked.

"Lady Celi," Gunter replied.

"I knew it," Wolfram muttered under his breath. "Who's the unfortunate man this time?"

"A! Some Lord what's his name from some excrement county," Gwendal replied sounding a bit annoyed with another of his mother's new love interest, though he knew this affair wouldn't last. The whole thing would blow over even before they would get to know the man's shoe size.

Yuri chuckled. "What? Seriously, what's his name?" Yuri asked hoping to give the future Mr. Spitzweg, but not so promising, a little more recognition.

"I already told you –" Gwendal started when Conrart entered the room and interrupted them.

"Lord Hazel Watzisname from Crapscounty," Conrart said, heading over to his seat with a piece of paper in his hand, which looked a lot like a letter of some sort. "But the people there prefer to call it Richsoil County, for obvious reasons." He passed the paper to Wolfram at the head of the table. "Mother sent us an invitation to her cruise ship for her, sort of, engagement party with the Lord, which we received this morning. They met at Richsoil County when Mother was looking for flower seeds she could cross-breed again. Apparently, the place was named after their rich land that could grow any type of vegetation. Richsoil County is very famous for farming."

"Ah, Shibuya! Farming!" Murata teased Wolfram which was ignored.

"So when's the party?" Yuri asked.

"Tonight. They'll be docking this evening at the harbor to pick up the guests and set sail to the middle of the ocean for the celebration," the brunet informed.

Wolfram slammed the letter on the table and was muttering again. "Great! We're riding a boat again," he said already looking a little sick. But nobody seemed to notice it except for Yuri.

"Well, with that taken care of, I think we should start with lunch," Gunter suggested as he folded his hands on the table. "Um… I think we should get new silverware. It looks like an angry mob had a rough riot inside this room."

Gwendal grunted as he pushed himself from the table and stood up. "I'll go get the maid."

"Oh, hey, where's Greta?" Yuri asked looking around the room for a familiar brown hair.

"She'll be in a minute," Conrart answered. "She said something about helping Anissina process a crime scene."

Yuri swallowed hard. "Oh," he whispered as he scratched his head. He saw Wolfram do the same and wondered if the prince also felt a little panicky about the mention of such crime scene.

-oOo-

Wolfram felt the hard, flat surface of the boat's deck beneath the soles of his shoes. He knew it was solid, he could see it was solid, but it seemed like it was made out of liquid and the prince cursed the vile cruise ship. Why couldn't his mother have her engagement party at the castle like they used to? His mother was spiting him, he just knew it. After all, Lord Hazel Whatzisname was the "new" man in her life, but that was only until his mother found some other interest. He didn't _not _like Lord Hazel, but he was tired of the constant hello's then goodbye's, so there was really no point in liking the _new comers_, so to speak.

Wolfram looked at the man in front of him and resisted the urge to frown with distaste. He was practically old enough to be his mother's father! However, he had to act pleased with his acquaintance as he held out his hand for the other to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Whatzisname."

The older man took it and while shaking Wolfram's hand, he replied, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty. I'm size eleven."

"Excuse me?"

"My shoe size. It's eleven."

Wolfram gently let go of the other man's hand and nodded slowly. "I… see… Thank you for that very… valuable information."

Lady Celi giggled beside the older man. "Oh, Your Majesty. It's custom for people from Richsoil County to tell their shoe size upon introduction."

Lord Hazel beamed with pride. "Yes, in ancient days, most people were farmers in Richsoil and civilians got their jobs according to the size of their feet. Working in the fields was much more preferable because it was the highest paying job in the land and people with big feet were easily accepted as farmers. Others with smaller feet worked as merchants, carpenters or fishermen."

"Ah, I see. Thank you very much for enlightening me with your rich history."

"It's an honor, Your Majesty. How about you?"

"What about me?"

"Your shoe size, Your Majesty."

"Oh, I'm a seven. Sometimes seven and a half or eight."

Lord Hazel laughed good-naturedly. "My, you've got really small feet, Your Majesty. You couldn't work as a farmer in Richsoil."

"Yes… I'm terribly disappointed," Wolfram replied, trying to hide the sarcasm in his tone. _Why in the world would I want to work as a farmer in Crapscounty?_ He thought.

The boat suddenly lurched forward and Wolfram almost spewed whatever was left in his stomach all over his mother's short-term fiancé. He held on to the railing when his knees weakened and his head spun a bit. He leaned over further fearing that his digested meal might launch a surprise attack. The boat rocked violently for a few seconds making Wolfram feel even worse.

Lady Celi put a hand on his shoulder. "Your Majesty, are you feeling okay? You look a little green."

Wolfram stared at a star at the horizon – the unmoving, non-lurching, non-rocking star, and trying to feel the cool night breeze that helped ease his ill stomach. He swallowed before he replied, "I'm feeling wonderful. The green's just a reflection from the seaweeds. Don't worry about me."

"Okay then. Shall we go in and join the others?" Lady Celi asked as she removed her hand from his shoulder and coiled it at the crook of the older man's arm.

"No, you go ahead. I think I'll stay here a while longer and… just admire the evening panorama. It's just such a lovely night."

"Okay… well, don't take too long or Wolfie might think you've gone off flirting again!"

_Oh, that reminds me, where is that flirt? He'd better not be cheating on me! _"I won't!" he replied with a wave of his hand and decided to look for his fiancé when his gut starts to cooperate with him.

"You won't what? Be long or go flirting?" The former queen asked, her voice teasing him.

Wolfram sighed with irritation. All this talking was making him feel more nauseous. "I won't be long, Mother!" he snapped hoping to get rid of her immediately so that he could be alone and throw up in peace.

Lady Celi raised her well-manicured eyebrow, a playful smile on her cherry-red lips. "Oooh… Very well then, Your Majesty. I see you've already accepted your role in my baby's life." With that she turned around and joined her guests dining and dancing.

Wolfram scratched his head and wondered what his mother had meant about accepting his role. "Oh, damn! I forgot again!" he muttered, slamming his fist on the wooden railing. He scratched his head again; it suddenly felt funny. But he completely forgot the weird feeling on his head when a wave of nausea hit him which accompanied the big wave that slapped the side of the boat. _I should get to my cabin and lie down for a while until the waves relax a bit. I don't to have to be the walking spew geyser. _He shivered at the thought and shouldn't have thought about spew geysers because it made him feel worse than ever.

"Yuri!" came a small voice.

He turned around and smiled at Greta who was pulling Yuri behind her. "Hi Greta," he responded weakly.

"Me and Wolfram have been looking all over for you! What are you doing out here by yourself?" Greta asked.

"Wolfram and I," Wolfram corrected.

The young girl tilted her head to the side. "Huh? What do you mean? Wolfram was with me all this time."

The prince shook his head gently. "Nevermind. I just needed some air, that's all."

"You don't look so good, not that you look ugly. I meant you look terrible. No, I meant –"

Wolfram chuckled. "I know what you mean, Greta. I'm feeling a little seasick."

The little girl's eyes grew wide. "You are? Wolfram must have passed it on to you, because ever since he got on this boat he never got sick, not once."

Wolfram could only smile at her innocence. "Are you sure you want to stay here? You might catch it, too."

She leaned on the railing, her chin just touching the edge, and looked at the dark ocean. "I don't mind as long as I'm with you."

_Aaw… I should give her a hug later when I'm not feeling so sick_. He felt an arm across his back and looked at Yuri. Well, now, it seemed like he was looking at his reflection.

"You okay?" Yuri whispered beside him.

"Do I look like I'm okay to you, wimp?" Wolfram whispered back.

"No, you don't look so swell. And don't call me a wimp!"

"Whatever wimp."

They were settling in silence for a while when Greta spoke up again. "Hey Yuri, maybe you should take in something, maybe it'll make your tummy feel better. The food's great here. Have you tasted their salami? Their five seasons dip looked like it had an infection." Greta made a face. "You should also try their kestrel eggs, it was delicious. They mashed it up and it's all brown and gooey and it looks like, well, the insides of your stomach, but it tastes great! And what about that – um… Wolf, what was that thing that looked like a huge wart and half-cooked –"

"I think it was called Chateaubriand…" Yuri replied completely oblivious of Wolfram's discomfort with their current discussion and who was turning greener and greener with every mention of each dish.

"Yeah, that one. How about that pudding that smelled like bearbee poop?"

"It was junket."

"Did you know that they serve that dish with stomach lining of sheep?"

"How did you know that?" Yuri asked.

"Anissina told me."

"Isn't she very knowledgeable."

"Yeah, she was the one who told me not the eat the cookies, 'cause they were made from dung bugs –"

Wolfram's hand instantly flew over his mouth. "Could you –_ retch _– please – _retch _– not talk about – _retch_ – food? It's disgusting – _retch_ – !" He felt like his stomach had a very tight corset around it. Could they be more inconsiderate? He was practically dying!

"It's not disgusting," Greta retorted, "It's just a little exotic for your taste. They're all Richsoil specialties."

"Exotic, my ass," Wolfram muttered so softly that Greta couldn't hear it. He felt his lunch travel back up the chute. _Oh Shinou! I don't think I can hold it any longer!_ Wolfram looked at the water beneath the boat, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Yuri was leaning beside him, patting the prince's back.

"I think I'll go back inside," Greta said as she smoothened out her dress

Wolfram looked down at her. "I thought you were going to stay with me."

"No offense, Yuri, but I don't want to ruin my dress. Lady Celi had this made for me." Then skipped back inside.

Wolfram frowned. _I am definitely not hugging her later!_ In the corner of his eye, he saw something gleam in Yuri's shirt pocket. "Hey, what's that?"

Yuri looked. He fished out a golden pocket watch. "Oh, this? I found this in your drawer. It looks cool, huh?"

Wolfram made a face. "It makes me look old."

"No, it doesn't. I feel like I'm an English gentleman with this pocket watch."

"What the hell is an English gentleman? I don't like it. Take it off." Wolfram started pulling on the watch's chain.

Yuri pulled it back. "It looks nice."

"No, it doesn't!" Wolfram tugged.

Yuri tugged back. "Yes, it does. Now let go before you break it!"

"It's my watch. I can do with it whatever I want! What were you doing going through my things anyway?" Wolfram asked angrily as he wrenched on the chain harder.

"Su casa, mi casa, Wolf. Besides, you go through my things, too!"

"What the hell does that mean? Stop talking gibberish and just give it up!"

"No!"

"Give it!"

"I said, no!"

"I said, give it!"

"I'm the king and I order you to stop pulling!"

"Ha! Look in the mirror! _I_ order you to give it!"

"Stop being so stubborn, Wolf!"

"Wimp!"

"Brat!"

"Flirt!"

"Brat!"

"You already said that! Cheater!"

"Why do you hate it so much?"

Wolfram only yanked harder. "It reminds me of my father. Now take it off."

"Why would you hate something that reminds you of your dad?" Yuri enquired as he yanked as equally hard.

"Because I don't like him, that's why!" and with that, Wolfram pulled with all his might and broke the chain which sent the golden pocket watch flying over the edge of the railing.

Yuri instantly leaned over, trying to grab the watch. He leaned even further and further and further… The next thing Wolfram noticed was the sudden disappearance of his fiancé from his side and someone yelling "Oh noooo!" then a splash.

Wolfram looked at the dark water beneath and saw his fiancé flailing his arms around and the prince didn't know if Yuri was swimming or trying to call for help. He didn't even know if Yuri could swim! _I don't know my fiancé! _He wailed inside. _How much do I really know Yuri? How come I don't know if he could swim or not? I'm such a terrible fiancé! Wait… do I know his favorite food? How about his color? Was it blue? I'm not sure. I think it was green. He did mention something about cremation and green urns. Yuri's too young to be thinking of dying, really. What was I thinking about before? Oh, yeah, if Yuri could swim. He could know, I mean, he _should_ know. For Shinou's sake, he travels by water! Water… water… Oh, shoot! I forgot! Yuri's drowning!_ By now the flailing had stopped. "DAMN!!! Hey! Somebody! Man overboard!"

A soldier who was conveniently on patrol quickly ran to his side. "Your Majesty!"

"What are you standing there for? Throw a lifebuoy or the anchor or something! Anything! Yuri's drowning!"

The soldier stood there for a moment, baffled. "Yuri's drowning? Your Majesty?"

"Are you deaf? Or did I stutter?"

The soldier's brows furrowed for a moment then it shot up. "Oh! Are we supposed to be talking in codes?"

Wolfram slapped his forehead. "I meant, Wolfram is drowning!"

The other looked down at the dark water. "I don't see anything."

"Are you doubting me soldier?" Wolfram barked.

"N-no, Your Majesty! My humblest apologies, Your Majesty!"

"Good! Now get in there and look for my fiancé!"

"Uh, you mean jump in there? But it's so dark."

Wolfram sighed. There was really no time for this. He took off his purple sash, clambered up the railing and jumped into the water. He honestly wondered why he didn't do this first; he was an excellent swimmer.

The water was too dark and he couldn't see anything. "YURI!!!" No response. He called again, but still no response. Wolfram panicked. Yuri couldn't have drowned. Maybe he was brought back to Earth? _Oh no! Wouldn't it be strange if they find out that Wolfram was the one sent to Earth and not Yuri? Oh, we're in deep bearbee shit!_

TBC

Epilogue: _Res ipsa loquitur_ is Latin for "the thing speaks for itself". Kestrel is a small falcon, but I don't know if we can eat the eggs; there is actually a Chateaubriand dish and junket, but I don't know what they look like, how they taste or what they're really made out of. I just like their names. _Su casa, mi casa_ is actually _mi casa, su casa_ which means "my house, your house" in Spanish. I interchanged it so it makes more sense.

Gracias!

Reviews? Por favor?


	5. Transformation

Yuri thrashed around in the water, trying to swim

Disclaimer: I don't own KKM or the other things mentioned in this chapter.

Warning: Contains languages not suitable for general audience. Parental guidance is advised.

A/N: my humblest and sincerest apologies. It has been… a year? since I updated this thing. I'm pretty sure you've forgotten this story ever existed, no? either that or you've thought that I've stopped this. There is no excuse for my indolence.

My deepest appreciation to the following: Maeleene, phantome101, thacha, Blue Phoenix, juntomatsu, sarahpatrick, Clara, blackcat0707, Sakura Yamazaki, ire-3, ladyaymie and all others who took the time to read this and favorited it and alerted it without leaving a comment (I know who you are!!).

rowen raven: sorry it took too long to post the next chapter… :( but here it is. Thanks for the R&R!! :)

Snowglobe, my arse!!

Transformation

Blood Pledge Castle had gone completely silent; after all, it was past midnight. It was the time of night where everyone goes to bed and wait for the sun to rise while the other creatures take their turn to roam the land. In the distance, a wolf howled and soon after, its pack joined in.

'_Tis now the very witching time of night; when churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out contagion to this world._

Yuri could only stare back at the mirror and even though it was only the moon that provided the source of light, he could perfectly make out the reflection he had grown accustomed to for the past week. Seeing himself in the mirror as having blond hair and green eyes needed some getting used to, but looking at the image of the love of his life every time he turned to a shiny surface was not at all that difficult. It was like bringing a piece of photograph of Wolfram with him wherever he went. The change might not have been so bad, or at least that was what he had initially thought. Looking back at the image in the mirror, Yuri knew things had officially gone from bad to worse then to the worst. The picture-perfect image he used to see was now changed. The previously golden hair had turned to almost silvery-white, the emerald eyes had turned so pale that it was as if his eyes had yellow pupils and his skin had turned so pallid that he could be mistaken as someone whose blood had been completely drained from his body. Those changes were the least of his worries. It was the _other_ changes that deeply concerned the young king.

He brought his vision down to his pair of hands, which right now did not look like human hands – they could not be even called hands anymore. They were a pair of menacing claws; his fingers had lengthened with nails growing long and sharp no matter how much he trimmed it. Scratching might be dangerous now, he thought. He chuckled. _Funny I'm so worried about hurting myself when scratching, when I have graver things to worry about._ He closed his eyes for a brief moment and turned his attention back to the mirror. So far, it was not only the color of his hair and eyes that changed, but practically almost everything about his physical features had morphed – into something unspeakable. Opening his mouth, it revealed rows of fangs that glinted in the soft moonlight. He licked his dagger-like teeth with his tongue, now no longer of a human's but somewhat of a snake's. But the biggest change, however, were not these. The most noticeable among them were a pair of wings – huge wings like of a dragon. At first, it had been a pair of lumps and the boy thought it might have been bruises he acquired when he fell from the boat on that fateful night, but eventually, the lump grew bigger and resulted into this.

The creature that he had become scared Yuri. He had stayed inside one of the locked rooms in Blood Pledge Castle, hoping no one would ever find him. Was this the result of his and Wolfram's carelessness? What seemed to him was once a harmless misadventure had turned into a disastrous nightmare. Why couldn't he just say it out? That he was the one at fault and broke Anissina's contraption? And if he had turned into this, what had happened to Wolfram? Yuri could only pray that he was all right. Now he could not go out into the open looking like this, without anyone trying to kill him. It was a little too late.

He gripped his stomach. He was hungry again. Every night for past few days, he had snuck out and went to nearby farms to drink blood of livestock and eat their hearts. Yuri knew it was definitely wrong, but he couldn't resist the very strong urge to do so. Tonight, he knew that farm animals were not going to satiate him any longer. Tonight, he craved for a human heart. He wanted to see it beating in his hands, pulsating, and feel the rhythmic throb slowly ebb away. That would be absolutely delightful.

He tried to hold himself back as much as he could, but it might as well he never tried. His instincts took complete control over him. He was no longer sane. The craving for human flesh was just too powerful. _No! Yuri, don't do it! You must resist!_ His body not heeding his own warning, it headed out the window and proceeded to crawl on the castle walls. He knew that if anyone would see him, he would look like a scene from Dracula. Maybe now, he was Dracula himself. Yuri could only pray that his grip would loosen making him slip and fall into his death, but the claws dug in deep. With every step he could hear the faint clack-clack sound of his claws as it grazed against the cement wall. It was one of the sounds he might never forget, in addition to his erratic beating heart and heavy breathing. This was one night that he anticipated bloodshed and widespread slaughter; and one thing that absolutely bothered him was that the idea was very appealing to him, making him excited. He knew then that he had turned into a monster.

Spotting the familiar terrace just a few meters away, he knew that food was nearby. He could smell the fresh meat and hear the beating heart that was soon going to be his next meal. Planting his feet firmly on the hard floor, he proceeded forward cautiously, careful not to wake his prey from its last slumber. Walking through the open doors and the fluttering curtains, he had spotted the young boy lying on the bed. Somehow, he seemed familiar to Yuri. Moving even closer, he noticed the boy had black hair and had a pink nightgown on. _Hmmm… strange taste for a boy. But still he looks yummy._ As he ravaged the person sleeping on the bed with his eyes, he was drawn to him even more. It was not because he was starving for food, but something else stirred in him. Running his eyes through the bare neck and one shoulder, he went even closer. As the black-haired boy stirred and turned, the gown revealed a part of his smooth pale back. Yuri reached out slowly, bringing his deadly claws nearer and nearer… then stopped.

"Nnn…" the boy turned in bed again and was now facing him. Sensing someone else in the room, he slowly opened his eyes. "Who's there?"

Slowly rising from the bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he tried to make out of whom the dark silhouette belonged to. "Gunter? Is that you?"

A familiar name, a familiar voice, but it was all lost again when his body suddenly pounced on the lethargic one, pinning the pajama-clad on to the bed.

"What… what is going on?" when the other got a better view of his attacker, he gasped. "G-get away from me!!" he screamed as he struggled to break free. "Let me go!!"

Unclothing his meal, he then began licking the pure pale skin. His tongue was singing. The young boy was absolutely delectable.

"Stop! Let me go! Somebody, help me!!"

Then the banging on the door started as another familiar voice spoke, "Your Majesty! What is happening?" then the doorknob jiggled. "Open the door, Your Majesty!"

"Conrart! Help!"

Yet another familiar name. Who were they? Yuri wondered. He could hear another individual on the other side of the door, then another, then another. He was finally going to go for the bite when the door was at last rammed open and poured in people who were oh-so familiar to Yuri, yet complete strangers.

"Oh my goodness! It's a monster!" cried a man with flawlessly lavender hair.

Pushing through the small crowd, a lady with long red hair and piercing blue eyes emerged. "Just as I had thought! This is not a monster. Everyone, we must capture him!"

"Capture him!?" cried a man with a scowl plastered on his face. "Are you mad, Anissina? We must kill that beast!"

The boy beneath the morphed human continued to struggle. "What are you people doing!? Kill him!"

As everyone with a weapon prepared for an attack, the woman yelled again, "Stop! He's not what you think he is! He is His Majesty King Yuri!"

"What!?"

"What is she talking about?"

"That's His Majesty?"

"Has she gone mad?"

"She's not making any sense."

The woman marched toward the bed and a fist on her hip and a finger pointed at Yuri, she declared, "Finally, I found out who broke my invention. It was you, Yuri Shibuya!" then moving the finger to the other boy underneath, "And you, Wolfram von Bielefeld!"

"Yuri? It's you?" the boy named Wolfram turned to look at Yuri. "What happened to you?"

"You know what the consequences are, don't you boys?" the woman asked. "Five years under my servitude!" then laughed menacingly.

Yuri closed his eyes. _What is going on? This is all too confusing! This has to stop! This has to stop right now!!_ Without another thought, Yuri jumped at the woman with the intent of tearing her apart.

"No! Yuri Don't!" cried the boy on the bed, but Yuri had turned deaf. "Yuri! Stop!" he continued on. "Yuri! Yuri! Yuri!"

Even though the boy-turned-beast could hear his named called out, he couldn't stop. All he felt was the fear and the need to kill. Slowly he slipped into darkness as the voice that called out his name persisted. _Yuri! Yuri! Yuuuuuri!_

"Yuri dear! Time for breakfast!"

Yuri opened his eyes and saw Miko at the doorway, wearing a flowery apron and with a big smile on. "Get up dear or Shori will eat your share!" then closed the door as she left.

_What was that? A nightmare? That was definitely the mother of all nightmares!_ He quickly shot up from the bed and ran to the mirror. He was relieved not to see the sharp teeth, white hair and yellow eyes. Slumping down on the bed, he wondered who he had to thank for the night terror. He shrugged, maybe crazy-lady Anissina; after all, she was the one whom he wanted to tear to millions of pieces in his dream.

Looking at his hands, they were the same old human hands as they were ever since. No claws. And as he headed to the toilet, he wondered if that dream was some omen of some sort. He only prayed that it was not going to be literal. _But having Wolfram pinned under me, naked, and licking him all over might not be such a bad idea (but not in their current condition, of course, because that would be completely, utterly and absolutely awkward)._

-oOo-

"Gwendal!" boomed a voice authoritative enough to make the boldest soldiers tremble in their boots, yet soothing enough to calm a hysterical child, a voice that Gwendal was all too familiar with, a voice that gave him the heebie-jeebies. The doors were flung open so violently that it seemed like the whole room vibrated.

"Anissina, a proper lady shouldn't just barge into a room like that. People are going to think you were raised by sandbears," growled the man behind the desk, trying so hard to control his temper and his heart rate.

In just a few strides, Anissina was already in front of his desk, fists on her hips and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Somehow, panic stirred inside Gwendal and hard as he might try to control it, his vital signs rose and his sweat glands began sweating like there was no tomorrow. He swallowed a lump in his throat that seemed to be always stuck there whenever Anissina was in his view.

"And a proper gentleman," the woman retorted, "would never enter a lady's laboratory without the legal owner's consent. No one would ever know what unspeakable things he might do –"

"For the last time, Anissina, I. Did. Not. Steal. Your… whatever it is called –"

"I-am-such-a-loser-and-my-life-sucks-and-I-want-yours-so-lets-exchange-because-I-think-you-have-a-better-life-than-mine-kun."

Again, Gwendal was amazed how she could say something so difficult so fast without biting her tongue. _She must have some flexible tongue, _he thought._ I wonder if she could tie schmantelle noodle with her tongue; I hear who ever does, is a good kisser. I wonder if she's a good – Oh My Shinou!! What in the world am I thinking!? Gwendal, you are a gentleman! A gentleman like you does not have such indecent thoughts! Bad Gwendal! Bad!_

"…be over soon! If you just admit it –"

"I will never admit that I thought of kissing you!!" Gwendal suddenly blurted out and wished that a huge black hole would swallow him up completely as soon as those words flew out of his mouth. _Stupid!_

The man found himself in the most uncomfortable situation in his entire Mazoku life time. The room had abruptly turned very silent, so quiet that he could hear the wings of the boney tribe flapping in the wind way above in the clouds. His heart did a double time and his mouth had turned dry which probably owed to the fact that he was sweating so much as if his life depended on it.

_What now? Should I apologize for that unexpected and completely inappropriate statement? Or should I just laugh it off as some kind of a joke? Well, whatever it is, I better decide now and stop acting like some idiot. It's do or die!_

"Anissina –" Gwendal started.

"You know, I can tie a schmantelle noodle with my tongue," Anissina provided impishly.

The man let his jaw hang. _Well, now I know. _He honestly didn't know what to reply.

"So thinking about what you denied thinking wouldn't be such a terrible idea, now, would it?" she added.

He remained forever silent.

The red-head leaned forward over the desk and brought her face close to the other, somewhat dumbfounded, one. "Do you, perhaps, want to try it with me? Hm, Gwendal?" a slight teasing in her voice.

Her big, round, blue eyes were making him more uncomfortable by the second. He could hear the clock ticking and it seemed to echo. Did he even have a clock inside the room? If he did, he better replace it with another that doesn't tick so loudly, especially when the occupants in the room are in an uncomfortable situation such as this, he thought. Just when he felt that he was going to pass out, the doors slammed open and in came Gwendal's life saver – more or less.

With his right hand flying to his forehead dramatically and in a rather falsetto voice, Lord von Christ cried out, "His Majesty, King Yuri refuses to see anyone and has locked himself in his room! What am I to do!?"

Desperate for an escape, Lord von Voltaire swiftly stood up and cleared his throat. The lump was still there. He was probably developing a throat tumor all thanks to Anissina. "Yes. We must address this issue at once!"

Both men were about to exit when the lady – who was apparently a good kisser – stopped them in their tracks – much to Gwendal's dismay.

"Halt!" boomed the ever so commanding voice.

Neither of them turned around.

"Don't you know what's going on?" Anissina asked, finally straightening up and leaned against the desk, with her arms folded across her chest.

Slowly, she caught their attention and they turned to look at her.

"And I assume you know?" Gwendal asked.

"Well, it's not that hard to figure out. I have the mind of an inventor. Most of the time I know what's wrong with something that's not going right."

"This isn't some experiment –"

"Just think about it, men," Anissina interrupted, "Wolfram's been missing for almost fifteen days now and His Majesty's all alone… no one to lay beside him during those cold and lonely nights… nothing to stoke the fire within him…"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Gunter asked.

"His Majesty's all pent up…" Anissina hinted.

"Then why would he lock himself inside his room?" Gwendal inquired.

"He's pent up… emotionally… Come on! It's like you've never been his age before!"

Gwendal and Gunter's eyebrows turned and twisted as they tried to put together the clues that Anissina revealed before them. Hard as he might try, Gwendal could not get the image of his childhood friend tying a noodle with her tongue out of his mind. He sighed, _this is not going well._ The other man, however, had brought his hand to his chin, mulling intently at, what appeared to him, such a difficult riddle.

"Pent up… pent up… pent up…" von Christ muttered.

Anissina sighed with apparent frustration. "Geez! Wolfram, the outlet for his… er… let me say… fleshy desires… is missing. The future of his emotional and sexual integrity is in the palm of his hand… um, literally. After all, men are slaves to their nether regions… Catch my drift, gentlemen?"

"Oh… my… heavens!!" Gunter cried. "His – His Majesty would never do such… such unthinkable acts!" a slight stream of blood trickled down his left nostril, an imminent major nosebleed was sure to follow.

The read-head raised an eyebrow, "Unthinkable, yet you're already thinking about it, Lord von Christ."

"Gah!" the man, with the ever lovely and rather translucent hair, quickly brought his hands up to cover his bleeding nose. "Th-this isn't blood. I have a strange condition called… he-hematorhinorhea. My mucus is colored red."

Anissina was not convinced and was starting to head out, "Yes, yes. Whatever, Gunter. I –"

"Excuse me…" Docascos suddenly appeared at the doorway, bringing with him a small piece of paper. "A message has arrived from Lady Celi."

"What does it say, Docascos?" Gwendal asked.

"Oh, she's just asking how everyone is doing…"

"Hmph!" huffed Gwendal, "She doesn't seem to be very concerned that one of her sons has gone missing!"

"Oh, she still believes that Wolfram eloped with that stable boy we took in the other month," Gunter piped in, still wiping away his – red mucus. "According to her, they've been giving each other _the look_."

"What?" exclaimed von Voltaire, "Wolfram? Stable boy? I don't think our youngest brother's pride would ever make him fall for someone below his social status."

The other three nodded in mutual agreement.

"And besides," added Lady von Karbelnikoff, "Lord Wolfram and His Majesty only have eyes for each other. They are so close that it makes you wonder what they do when the sun sets and they're both all alone…"

Gwendal cleared his throat. "Wolfram is only eighty-two. He is absolutely too young for such… adult matters."

"Actually, he's turning eighty-three this year," Gunter provided.

"Doesn't matter! Eighty-two! Eighty-three! Or eighty-nine! He's still too young!"

"Oh-ho-ho!" the woman exclaimed, "Are you just overly concerned for Wolfram or did I hear a hint of jealousy in your voice? How old are you, Gwendal? Over a hundred-fifty? And still you have no one to be intimate with –"

"My age is none of you concern. Besides, who are you to lecture me when you yourself have become a spinster?"

Anissina gasped. "Spinster!? For your information, Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, I am a woman of science! I have dedicated my life to education, research and women empowerment. So it's not I don't have men – or even women for that matter – following me wherever I go, I do! I just don't have the time!"

"That's a poor excuse, Lady Anissina von Karbelnikoff. You scare people off with your evil inventions –"

"Evil!? You're the one who's evil! You sneak into my lab, break my things then lie about it!"

"For the millionth time, I did not do it!"

"Tell it to the judge, you – you wrinkled old man!"

"Who do you think is the cause for all these wrinkles, you evil, evil woman!"

"I am not evil. I am merely misunderstood."

"Misunderstood? Oh, we understand you perfectly well. You are a conniving little witch, that's what you are!"

"How dare you call a lady a witch, you thief!"

"Crazy lady!"

"Lonely old goat!"

"Walking disaster!"

"Unappealing, uncharming, boring, inconsiderate, impotent –"

"Hey now!"

"- callous, unfeeling, uncaring, dull –"

Gunter, now totally forgotten in the sidelines, watched on as the bickering escalated. "Oh my! This has turned into a full-blown war. Um… excuse me…" he tried to cut in, but to no avail. It appeared as if the couple had built a world of their own – a world of war, that is.

"- bitter, nasty, wrinkled –"

"You already said wrinkled!"

"Uh…" Docascos tried to speak up amidst the noise. "Excuse me, but there is something else in the letter Lady Celi sent."

"WHAT!?" von Karbelnikoff and von Voltaire yelled in unison at the poor, unsuspecting soldier, who cringed in response.

"Uh… eh… ah…" stuttered the bald one, trying to form the words in his mouth that refused to come.

"Get on with it Docascos. We have more important matters to attend to," Gwendal supplied.

"Well, she wrote to inform us that she wanted to tell you that maybe she will be coming back probably by the end of this month," the soldier replied nervously.

"And?" Gwendal prodded on.

"And to prepare for a grand wedding celebration…"

"What!?" Gunter exclaimed. "She's actually marrying Lord Hazel?"

"Well… I believe so…" the soldier replied.

"Ha! I wonder what she sees in that man…" Anissina wondered.

"Oh, one more thing…" Docascos added. "She also said in the letter…" he looked down at the note in his hand and read, "to prepare for a meeting with your fourth brother anytime soon." He looked up to find the wide-eyed trio staring back at him with utter disbelief. Gwendal's left eye twitched a bit.

"You mean…" the woman started, "she's… with child…?"

"Hm… no wonder they're pushing through with the marriage," added Gunter.

Silence settled as all eyes turned to Gwendal, who was the only one who had not spoken since the news was revealed. Being the eldest son of the royal family, everyone else in the room deemed that he would be the one receiving the hardest blow from that revelation alone. However, they were still unsure for he was still staring blankly at Docascos and appeared to be at a loss for words.

"M-my Lord?" the soldier stammered.

"Hello! Gwendal!" Anissina waved her hand in front of the other man's eyes.

"I think he's passed out," Gunter said.

Finally, the twitchy man's lips moved. "She… sshh… sheee… shee…"

"What's going on with him?" Anissina pondered.

"Is he in pain?" Gunter inquired.

"I think he's having trouble breathing," answered the bearer of bad news.

"I think he's singing," said Gunter.

"Gwendal doesn't sing. He must be having a seizure of some sort," piped in Anissina.

"Sshee… sshh… sshhhe…" continued the dazed man.

"Gwendal?" Anissina asked, genuinely concerned.

"My Lord?"

"Sshh… she… sshhee…" finally, he was able to let it out, "SHE'S WHAAAAAAT!?"

-oOo-

Meanwhile somewhere in the depths of Blood Pledge Castle, a double-black waited silently. In the four corners of his room, he sat on the bed with the cap, which his eldest brother had knitted for him, on his head. Outside he heard the advisor call out their king's name and even though Wolfram knew that they meant _him_, he didn't dare answer. He didn't want to speak, neither did he want to move or look at himself for something was changing in him and he didn't know what it was and how he was going to solve this. Fear stirred in him, though he would never dare admit it out loud.

"Yuri, where are you? When are you coming back?" he whispered to himself. "Wimp!"

-oOo-

"Mom! Stop staring at me already!" Yuri complained at the table. "It's making me uncomfortable!"

Miko put her hands together and cooed, "Oh, but it's not everyday that one of my sons turns into this angelic foreigner!"

"Well, sorry if I looked not angelic," Yuri muttered. It was ironic how Wolfram had the features of an angel, when his personality's the complete opposite. "I said stop staring!"

"But I just find it hard to believe that you're actually Yu-chan! I mean, it sounds like you, all depressed and embarrassed like that… but –"

"Depressed? I don't sound depressed."

"Oh yes, you do, dear. Most of the time, it seems like the world is always on your shoulders. But, I mean, that's what make you, you!"

"Well, being the king of another world isn't really the easiest job."

"Speaking of another world," Shoma interjected, "How is everyone doing?"

"Uh… well… everyone's still everyone… well, except Wolfram – and I," Yuri answered. "I wonder how he's doing…" he muttered to himself.

His father put down his spoon. "A snowglobe personality exchanger, huh…"

Their youngest son smiled sheepishly. "Well, that's not exactly the name. It was too long and I couldn't remember it," he confessed as he recalled the day he arrived from the Great Demon Kingdom; all the people staring at him as he made his way home, his family's disbelief, the hours of explanation of what happened between him and Wolfram on that ill-fated night – leaving behind some intimate details that he was sure to shock his family enough to place them into a coma – and how he had gotten into this predicament.

"This all seems so surreal to me," said Shoma.

"Tell me about it…"

"So…" Miko interrupted, "How's Wolf-chan doing? You both getting along?"

Yuri blushed. _Oh yes, we're getting along __**so well**_. "Yeah, we're both great… ehehehe…"

"So when are you two getting married?" their mother asked and Yuri could feel his blush deepen even more.

Shori and Shoma started to choke on their curry.

"Oh my!" Miko exclaimed as she turned to the both of them. "Is the curry too spicy today?"

"Dear," Shoma started to say as soon as he chugged down some water and wiped his lips with a napkin, "Don't you think Yu-chan's a bit too early to be married? He's only fifteen!"

"Honey! Age isn't an issue in the matters of the heart! If two people are in-love, they should get married if they want to! Love can make you overcome any barriers or any obstacles that are in your way; it can settle differences, erase boundaries and it can transform the bitterness and all the sadness inside of you if you just… let… yourself… love!" Closing her eyes, she sighed deeply like a crushing high schooler.

"You are a born romantic," their father commented, more to himself than to the woman he was talking to.

Miko once again turned her attention to her youngest son. "I mean, the both of you _are_ in-love with each other, right dear?"

The boy-king was speechless. Was there a safe answer to this? If it was him months ago, he would right away say 'Heck no! Of course not! We're both guys for cryin' out loud!' But now, he couldn't say that, because even though they were both men, he had developed a special feeling for his unintentional fiancé that made him all warm and fuzzy inside, and denying it would be unfair to Wolfram even if he was not around to know about it. So, if the answer was not 'no' then it would be…

Yuri took a deep breath and started slowly, "Weeelll… you could say –"

Putting her hands together again and interrupting her son and beaming even more now, she exclaimed excitedly, "Oh Yu-chan! I had the most wonderful idea!"

"I really doubt that," Yuri muttered back as relief flooded him only to be replaced by a sinking feeling.

"Since Wolf-chan's body is here, it better try on my wedding dress! It would look absolutely fabulous!"

"Huh!? We-wedding dress?" Yuri panicked. The sinking feeling now turn into dread.

She jumped up. "I'll just go look for it right now!" and zipped off like the whirlwind.

"Honey!" Shoma called back, "We're still having breakfast!" but his wife was already out of earshot, but even if she was her ears would be plugged with the thoughts of Yuri's wedding. "My goodness. What is with that woman!? Well, it was her quirks that made me fall in-love with her." Turning to Shori who had been quiet all this time, he said, "So how about you, Sho-chan, do you have a special someone right now?"

Quickly finishing off the last spoonful of his meal and chugging down his juice, he wiped his mouth, stood up and bringing his plate to the sink, he murmured, "No comment." Then left the room.

Shoma sighed, "Really, it's been difficult talking to that boy recently." Then looking back at the only other person in the room, he then said in a soft voice, "Just between us men, just exactly how far have you gone with Wolf-chan?"

Yuri stared back at his father wide-eyed, unable to believe that he was able to ask that kind of personal question. _Dad, it's not that Shori's difficult to talk to, you just ask the most embarrassing questions!_ Rubbing his stomach, he quickly grabbed his plate and placed it on the sink, "Well, I'm so full. I think I'm gonna go back to my room now!" then dashed off before his father could pop another unexpected question.

"Wait! Why is everyone suddenly leaving!?" he could hear Shoma say as Yuri made his way upstairs.

Entering the bathroom, he filled the tub with water. Maybe this time he would be transported back to where he should be. He knew he needed to get back immediately and he should not here on Earth trying on wedding dresses and talking to his father about personal issues. Clothed in Wolfram's uniform, he jumped in the tub. Nothing. He splashed around. Still nothing.

"Why can't I go back!?" He screamed. "SHINOOOUUUU!!"

_/What!?/_

He stopped and looked around. He swore he heard someone say something, but it looked like he was all alone in the bathroom. It couldn't be a hallucination, could it? Maybe all the stress was taking a toll on his sanity. He sat in silence again, but all he heard was just that: silence.

He shook his head. "This is crazy. I must be hearing things," he said to himself as he decided to dry himself and stood up. He was going nowhere fast.

_/If you were not hearing things then you'd be deaf./_

Almost slipping on a rug, he grabbed the sink, bracing himself. He looked around again. _What is going on?_ "H-hello?"

_/Hello to you, too./_

_Oh my god! Someone's talking to me but I can't see him! Wait a minute! I've seen this movie before. The man turned invisible and went crazy! He's going to kill me! I'm going to die!!_

_/Yuri, relax. You have a hyperactive imagination./_

"Who are you? How do you know my name? A-are you the hollowman?"

There was a short silence. _/The what?/_

"Or wait… you couldn't be a disturbed soul and decided to haunt us, could you? I can help you move on. Please, just – just don't kill us! I beg you!"

The voice in his head sighed. _/You are so paranoid!/_

"No, no I'm not! I'm just being cautious. Nothing wrong with that."

_/Very well. If you say so. You're the king./_

"Who are you really?"

_/You don't honestly know who I am?/_

"Well duh! If I knew, I wouldn't be asking!"

_/Good point./_

Silence.

"Well?"

_/Well what?/_

"Are you going to tell me who you are?"

_/I am… your conscience, Yuri. It's time for you to mend your ways./_

"What!?"

The voice laughed. _/I'm just jesting. I love messing with young minds./_

"It's going to be your fault if the future looks bleak." Yuri moved out of the bathroom and headed to his room to change.

_/I know the future will be secure as long as you're king of the Great Demon Kingdom./_

The boy stalled for a moment at the sudden realization. "You're Shinou, aren't you?"

_/It's about time you figured it out, genius./_

Yuri peeled off his wet clothes and changed into something more comfortable. "Sorry for being so slow," he replied sarcastically. "So what brings you… here?"

_/You called for me and rather loudly, I might add./_

"Oh yeah. So what's the deal with the hold up here? Why aren't you bringing me back to the Great Demon Kingdom? You do realize we have a situation here."

_/Yes. I can see that. You don't seem to be yourself today./_

"That much is pretty obvious. So how come you didn't bring me back? It's almost been a week since I arrived."

_/Transportation is… a little troubled right now. If I attempt to bring you back, there's a probability that you might end up somewhere else and it would take days to locate you and bring you back. So I can't right now. I hope you can wait./_

"Do I have a choice?"

_/No. No, I believe you don't. Why? Getting tired of your family?/_

"Of course not. I'm just worried. How… how is Wolfram doing?"

_/It's very touching that you're so concerned about your lover. It's not doing very well in his end, I must admit. Something's… changed in him…/_

Images of Yuri's nightmare flashed through his mind. The fangs, the claws, the wings, the need to feed on human flesh and he started panicking again. "He's turning to Dracula, isn't he? Just tell it to me straight!"

_/There you go again, talking about incomprehensible things. Don't worry too much. He's still himself, in a manner of speaking./_

"What? What do you mean? Be more specific! Can't you do something? You are the all powerful and great Shinou!"

_/You give me too much credit, boy. I'm dead. What can I do?/_

"Well, for starters, you could bring me back, switch our bodies with Wolfram –"

_/I told you, transportation's not good right now./_

"Yes, yes. I heard you –"

_/And switching you back? I don't have the evil mind of Anissina. You're asking way too much here. It's not my fault you got so caught up in the heat of the moment that you actually entered the lion's den; the cause of all this chaos./_

"What?"

_/Chapter 1. May I remind you? And I quote 'The blond was grabbed by the shoulders and pinned against the concrete wall, his blue uniform gone in a blink of an eye. Yuri was trailing hot kisses down his fiancé's neck and collarbone as he struggled with Wolfram's white shirt. And when Yuri's hand slowly reached for that sensitive part'–/_

Yuri could feel blood rushing to his face. "Okay! Okay! I remember!"

_/It was submitted so long ago; you probably just forgot. People are too lazy these days…/_

The blond cleared his throat. "Getting to the matter at hand…"

_/I'm afraid, I can't, Yuri.../_

"What? Why?"

_/Ulrike is calling me –/_

"But –"

_/Trust me, I'll get you back… eventually./_

"Eventually!?"

_/Hey! Hey! You're lucky I'm still helping out even when I'm dead. How many kings can you find that are like that? Don't push your luck, kid!/_

"But –"

_/Look, everything will be all right, you'll see. I'll figure something out. After all, weren't you the one who said I am the all powerful and great Shinou?/_

Yuri was finally left in peace.

Lying on his bed, he raised his arms over his head and used his hands as his pillow then stared at the ceiling wondering if he should put all his faith in Shinou. _But what choice do I really have? Did he expect me to just wait here patiently? And what did he mean about Wolfram when he said that 'something's changed in him'?_ His nightmare flashed through his mind again and he shuddered. Yuri knew this was going to be a long wait.

Deep in his thoughts, the young king was utterly oblivious that his mother was just a few inches from the door, a wedding gown at hand…

-oOo-

The inner temple was completely serene, save for the soft gushing sound of water and gentle footsteps that slightly echoed in the almost empty hall.

The petite woman bowed her head as if praying. "Your Majesty, the preparations for the ceremony are almost complete. The officials and the men have already assembled outside, waiting for your orders."

Silence. She listened to the voice that she apparently could only hear. After a few seconds she nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. I shall let them in. About the mysterious drought in the south…" she stalled.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I shall inform them." Then bowed and turned to leave the inner sanctum. She stopped again and turned around. "Pardon me, Your Majesty?"

"Uh… I beg your pardon?" her brows wrinkled in confusion. "V-very well. If… that is what you wish, then it shall be granted, Your Majesty. Lord von Voltaire shall be notified of this through His Eminence." She bowed again and left, confounded at Shinou's surprising declaration. But she shrugged it off; who was she, just a guardian and a messenger, to question the Great One's decisions.

-oOo-

Gwendal rubbed his temples; they were starting to throb again. He sighed with exasperation for the nth time that afternoon. These seemingly petty matters were starting to take a toll on his patience and Lord von Voltaire was not the most patient man in the entire Great Demon Kingdom. Why, oh why, he wondered, was he doing this when it should be the demon king carrying out these tasks? But for some enigmatic reason, the king refused to leave his quarters. Whether it was Anissina's theory of sexual frustration or Gisela's impression of depression or even Gunter's ludicrous and paranoid idea that His Majesty shut himself was due to his hate for the advisor, Gwendal didn't care. The boy had duties and responsibilities and can not just abandon the entire country whenever his lover went missing. He should just suck it in and take it like a man.

Even though the entire entourage was assembled in his office, it was as quiet as Shinou's temple. He looked up at the spectacled young man standing before his desk, and could not help but be skeptic. The Great Sage was known for having a trick to two up his sleeve and no one could tell whether he was serious or just playing around.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" the older man asked the double black.

"I don't believe it is Ulrike's nature to lie. I'm pretty sure about that. Shinou's probably in one of his playful moods today."

Lord von Voltaire looked down at the proposal in his hand, but it was good as approved if it was Shinou who put it forward, however, Gwendal had a terrible feeling about this. "This… Do you… How… I mean…" he grunted and sighed again.

"What could you lose, Lord von Voltaire? You can't defy The Great One's wishes, can you? Besides, it sounds fun. We can't be like you all the time, all serious every second, every minute, every hour or the day. I mean, aren't you tired of being so… not fun? I don't want to appear as a bad guy here, but ever since I arrived here, I have yet to see you laugh your heart out. If you keep that up, you're really going to have wrinkles at an early age and, I tell you, Botox is expensive, not to mention risky. And, come on! No one likes a man who's so unappealing, uncharming, boring –"

Gwendals' ears perked. "Were you, by any chance, here yesterday?"

Murata was snapped out of his ranting, "Huh? Uh, no. I was fixing the toilets back at the temple all day yesterday, and you know how hard that is with a blind fold on. Those women seem to want to bathe every minute of the day and –"

"Okay. Okay! I get it. Very well. There is no way around this. When you came in here this afternoon, this was good as approved."

In the background, Gunter clapped and beamed with excitement.

Impressing the seal on the paper and scribbling his signature, Gwendal stated, "I declare this week as the Local Cosplay Week. Gunter, take over the preparations."

"Yes!" the advisor exclaimed excitedly, "Right away!" and as he made his exit, he started mumbling, "What should I be? Ooh! I want to be His Majesty, King Yuri! This is so exciting!"

-oOo-

Wolfram slowly removed his cap as he sat in front of the mirror, his hands trembling with fear, hoping fervently that what had happened to him was only a very vivid nightmare. As soon as his cap was completely taken off, his ears twitched – his other pair of black ears. Closing his eyes, he counted to three but when he looked again, the ears were still there. _Maybe three is just too short_, he thought, _ten ought to do it_. He closed his eyes again and took a big breath to calm his nerves.

_One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… nine and a quarter… nine and a half… nine and three quarters… nine and four-fifths… nine and nine-tenths… ten! _Taking another big breath, he slowly opened his eyes. Really, all this suspense was not going to be good for his heart. But, alas! It was still there.

_Maybe it's just an illusion, _he reasoned out again. Slowly reaching up and bringing his hands to the pointed tips of his new pair of ears, his fingers trembled a bit. Like touching fire, he gasped and swiftly withdrew his hands as soon as he felt the soft furry ears. _Waah!! What am I going to do? What am I going to do? This can't be real!! I'm dreaming! I am just in a long and quite unbelievably realistic dream which is also surprisingly long… and doesn't seem to end at all. _He bit his lower lip, trying to think of a solution, but none came to him; and he knew for sure that hiding in this room forever was not going to be it. _That's it! I've had it! I don't care how painful it is going to be, I'm going to take these things off!! _Then started yanking on the ears.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Wolfram whimpered. In the end, he gave up; his eyes started welling up with tears. _I am going to live forever as the man who has freakish __**cat**__ ears! Either that or I have to glue my cap on my head and that would make bathing difficult… but even if I do that what would I do with the other appendage growing on me??_ He slowly twisted his torso to take a look at his behind, and, lo and behold!! A black furry tail had also grown just around the middle of his sacral area and he had to do away with zipping his pants up, because it was too painful for his new found tail if he closed it completely. _Maybe I could tie it around like a belt…_ He shook his head. That was a terrible idea. A cap and a furry belt? It was a fashion for disaster, not that he was concerned about fashion at this point of his life, though.

He had considered approaching Gisela, because he thought that maybe this was just some kind of illness that could be cured by some drug, plant or spell of some sort. But in the corner of his mind, he had the feeling that this was tied to Anissina's invention, or, according to Yuri, the snowglobe – the root of all evil, the cause of all pain and suffering, the origins of malevolent and vile affliction.

_That reminds me, when that wimp gets back, I'll make sure he gets into a world of pain. I will show no mercy!_

A soft knock on the door made him put his cap back on. "W-what is it?"

"Shibuya, it's me."

_Great! The Great Wise Ass._ "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to know how you are. You've been holed up in there for so long and I'm starting to worry…"

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"Won't you let me in?"

"Now's not a good time."

There was a short silence and Wolfram thought the other had left. "Honestly, I came here bringing news about Wolfram."

The prince's eyes brightened and swiftly jumped to his feet. He ran to the door, opened it a little bit and stuck his head out.

"Whoa! Shibuya, nice cap. Is that your costume or something?"

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Wolfram!"

"Oh…" The Great Sage looked around then bringing his face close to the other, he whispered, "I was thinking we could talk inside; it's sort of confidential. It's top secret."

"No one's around."

"We could never be too sure about that, can we? I mean, the walls here have ears, if you know what I mean…"

Wolfram thought for a moment.

"Or if you don't want to hear about your lover boy, I'll just leave…" the other slowly turned around and took a step.

"Wait!" Wolfram sighed and gently shook his head. He knew this was not going to end well, but he just had to hear what the bespectacled double black had to tell him. _I'm going to regret this! _"All right! I only have a minute." Then gave way for the Wise Man to enter.

As Murata entered, he looked around; turning his head here and there, while the other wary one tried as much as he could in holding the uncontrollable wriggling tail out of sight and making sure that his back was turned against the sage.

"What are you looking for?" the prince asked.

The other shrugged. "Something suspicious. Maybe a clue as to what you're so preoccupied with inside this room." He sat down the bed, his eyes still wandering around.

"There's nothing suspicious here."

"Sure!" was the sarcastic reply.

There was a moment of awkward silence. "Well?" Wolfram prodded.

"What? Am I supposed to say something?"

"You told me you bear news about Wolfram."

Waving his hand in the air, Murata said, "Oh, I just said that so you'd let me in. I didn't think it would work." He laughed. "I _am _the Great Wise Man!"

"WHAT!?" Wolfram exploded and had to restrain himself from grabbing a sharp object, jab it at the other laughing boy and chop him up into tiny little pieces. _Jab, jab, jab then chop, chop, chop… _The image of the Great Sage lying on the floor, blood pooling around him, his eyes lifeless and his mouth twisted in agony flashed before his eyes. Taking a deep cleansing breath, it hardly calmed him down for murderous intentions were still looming within him.

Trying to control his trembling voice, von Bielefeld inquired, "May I ask, oh Great Wise Man, what brings you here?"

"Do I need an excuse to see my very best friend?"

"If you're here for idle chit-chat, then I request you leave."

"Why are you so touchy nowadays? Are you PMS-ing or something?" Murata asked as he brought his feet up, leaned back against the wooden headboard and put his hands behind his head, making himself comfortable. Wolfram knew that the bespectacled one had no intention to leave any time soon. _I knew I was going to regret this! _ "We hardly hang out anymore. You're always here and I'm always there –"

"Is that supposed to be my fault?" the prince muttered under his breath.

"- and you've got your thing and I've got mine. Don't you know that the key to a good relationship is making good quality time for each other?"

The other huffed, "Don't make it sound like we're married."

"No, I'm not. I'm just saying –" Murata stopped talking all of a sudden and looked at his supposed best friend, his head tilted to one side as if studying the prince intently. "Are you hiding something behind you?"

Wolfram shook his head vigorously as his heart started to race. "N-no, I'm not!" he denied.

"Yes, you are." The boy stood up from the bed with a mischievous grin on his face. Light reflected from his glasses and Wolfram wondered where it was coming from. The Great Sage never runs out of little mysteries. "Let me see it," Murata said and, to the prince, it sounded like 'show it to me or you'll find yourself inside-out'.

Slowly backing towards the wall, Wolfram exclaimed, "It's really nothing!"

"If it's really nothing, then why are you hiding your hands behind you? Just show it to me. I won't tell anyone. I promise!" Murata declared, holding his right hand up, who was now on his feet and inching closer towards his nerve-wracked prey.

"I swear, it's nothing. Just leave mee-ee-ee-ee –" Wolfram quickly clamped his lips tight. _It went out again, and now of all times!_

Murata stopped momentarily in his tracks and looked at the other curiously. "Did you just bleat like a sheep?"

Wolfram only shook his head and didn't dare open his mouth. _Sheep don't bleat, cats do. _But, of course, he didn't say that; this was not the time to be playing teacher. He just stood there, jaws clamped tight and with eyes wide open.

As The Great Sage continued to inch forward, he said, "You're acting pretty strange lately, Shibuya. It would seem to me that you're hiding something from us. C'mon, tell me. You can trust me."

_Oh, right! _Wolfram thought sarcastically. _Trusting this person is like giving an impulsive yet skillful homicidal maniac who had a terribly bad day a really sharp blade and stand before him with arms wide telling him 'don't kill me!'. Did the Great Sage really think Yuri was a moron? Okay, scratch that. Maybe sometimes, Yuri acts and thinks like one, but he wouldn't really fall for something so obvious, would he? _Wolfram sighed and couldn't help but admit that there were times when his fiancé would just barge into a burning building or jump into a sinking ship without first assessing the overall safety or even determine the chance of his own survival if he does decide to go in.

As Murata backed him into a corner, Wolfram couldn't help but feel nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, no pun intended.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" the Great Sage asked. "Just let the cat out of the bag. You being so mysterious like that, it is itching my curiosity and we all know curiosity never killed the cat, did it?"

Wolfram swallowed hard. Somehow, with the way Murata was talking, the prince had the feeling that the other already knew without him telling anything and the longer he looked at the Great Sage who was practically already looming over him, the more he looked like the cunning Cheshire cat, and Wolfram didn't even know what a Cheshire cat is!

The prince frantically racked his brain for a solution to this cat-and-mouse predicament, no pun intended again.

"B-back off!" Wolfram howled which surprised Murata for a few seconds. "Or I will summon the great water dragons and you shall face your demise if you don't back off this instant!"

The other feigned fear. "Ooh!! You scare me!! I'm trembling in my shoes! Shibuya, your threats don't work on me. You're as scary as… well… a rusted tin can."

"Oh, are you challenging me? I can show you scary! Be prepared, Great Sage, I shaa-aa-aa-aa –"

"There it is again! You bleated!"

Wolfram shook his head. "N-no, I didn't. It was just your ima-aa-aa-aa-gination." _Shit! I have to take control of my emotions! Calm down! Calm down!! Ca-aa-aa-aa-alm down!!_

"No, it wasn't! And you did it again!"

"I have a spastic voice box! Leave! I have to recuperate! Le-ee-ee-ee-ave!"

Murata took one long hard look at the other double-black and sighed, "Fine. You win. I'll leave." And with that, he turned around and headed towards the door.

Wolfram sighed with relief. _Finally!_

"A-ha!" With one swift move, the Great Sage was able to tackle him to the ground and as he pressed Wolfram's right arm against the prince's back, pushing him to the cold hard floor, he said, "Never let your guard down in the presence of an enemy."

"Ow! That hurts! Let me go!!" Wolfram yelled as he struggled to break free.

"You can't be that delicate, Shibuya. This isn't pro-wrestling – what the…" his sentence was cut off when the bespectacled one noticed the furry black tail swaying close to his face. "Is this what you've been hiding all this time?" With his free hand, Murata touched the fuzzy appendage, inspecting it closely.

_Great! He now knows!_ Wolfram remained silent.

"Wow! It feels so real!"

_Because it is real._

"You've been hiding in here all this time, because you were making your costume for the contest, weren't you?" Murata exclaimed as he slowly let his captive go free, his eyes still on the black tail.

Wolfram sat up and rubbed his sore arm. "Contest?"

The Great Sage ignored his question. "How did you make it move like that? I didn't know you were so good with mechanics and all that stuff! Or did you let Anissina help you?"

"What?"

"It looks really real! But, you know…" Murata shifted his eyes towards the prince's head. "That cap doesn't somehow match the tail. Why don't you just take it off?" and without further notice, Murata grabbed the cap and slipped it off Wolfram's head.

"Wait!" the other tried to hold it in place but The Great Sage was too fast. _Never let your guard down in the presence of an enemy, indeed!_

"Whoa! Okay, now they match! Cool ears!" exclaimed Murata as he got up to his knees and inspecting Wolfram's head. "Wow! They feel so real! What did you use for the fur? Your own hair? It must have taken you days to finish this. Did Shinou tell you about the event? You are both a bunch of cheaters. The work is first-rate, so neat and equally spread out. I admire your handiwork, Shibuya. Where's the band? How did you put it on? Did you glue it to your scalp?"

Wolfram only listened on and wondered what The Great Sage was babbling about.

"But we should do something about those pants. You can't walk around with it unzipped. People are going to think you're an exhibitionist or something. Have you ever thought about poking a whole through your pants?"

"But they're not mine," Wolfram answered weakly, still unable to believe that the Great Sage was not repulsed by all that was growing on him, and all the strange sounds that was coming from his mouth. Wolfram had expected something more raucous along the lines of '_oh my Shinou! What happened to you!? What is that thing!? You've turned into a freak! Get away from meee!!' _Or maybe the Great Sage was just playing him, humoring him until he got Wolfram all figured out.

"Lord von Christ made them for you; it's as good as yours. Now where are those scissors…"

_I didn't mean that the clothes belonged to Gunter, but I don't want to have to explain. I'm sure, under these circumstances, Yuri wouldn't mind._

Minutes later, Wolfram found himself in a breezier pair of pants and both of them seated on the bed. "Local Cosplay Week?" the prince asked. _What the hell is 'cosplay'?_

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking. What in the world is Shinou up to, right?" Murata replied, his brows raised as he put the scissors away. "But, hey, you know what they say if you can't fight 'em, join 'em. And woo-hoo, explaining it to everyone was the most difficult part; it was like mission impossible. They just didn't know what cosplay meant, so I said this and that and eventually they understood it, I think so anyway. Everyone's so busy preparing for the celebration that Anissina even forgot that thing with the experiment and that incident with Gwendal. Honestly, those two are like cats and dogs; Anissina's the dog and Gwendal's the cat." Murata laughed. "I pity the poor guy. I heard from the grapevine that he almost fainted yesterday then almost bit off Docascos' head after he recovered from the shocking news that Lady Celi was gonna marry that guy from Crapscounty because she was pregnant with their fourth brother." He laughed again. "Lord Weller took the news pretty well; he just shrugged and said that there was nothing else they could do about it, but I doubt about Wolfram. He's gonna have a cow! But then, maybe the reason Wolfram left was because he knew about his mother's situation, and then… eloped… with a stable boy? Hey, Shibuya, aren't things between you and Lord Wolfram heating up?"

Wolfram was no longer listening to Murata's news report. _What? Mother's pregnant? As if three brothers are not bad enough, she wants another child? What was she thinking? Or rather, what was she __**not**__ thinking? Self-control or birth-control? What went in her mind when it happened? What does she even see in that man!? Oh, I bet he drugged her when that happened; that's it. She was drugged and taken against her will. After all, mother still looks so young and beautiful even if she's… three hundred years old? I honestly lost count. _Wolfram huffed. _She shouldn't be wearing that skimpy dress, it makes her look loose. A woman of her age is more befitting in more conservative yet elegant clothes. And I don't even want to start with that flirting of hers…_

Wolfram felt a poke on his rib and when he turned to look, it was the Great Sage looking at him expectantly.

"What's up? Why are you spacing out?"

For a moment, Wolfram sat there, unable to formulate any words in his mind. Finally, without a word, he grabbed Murata and threw him out the door – figuratively, of course, and closing the door on the other's face, left him yelling after the prince. "Hey! Shibuya! What gives!?"

_I just need some time to let this sink in. Mother's pregnant; we're going to have another brother. There are going to be four of us. And that man is going to be my father! I'm changing into a freaking cat! Yuri is out there somewhere, flirting with god-knows who, probably with that Sadako woman he mentioned in chapter one, and in my body!_ Wolfram took one long trembling breath. _Okay, now it's sunk in!_

Somewhere outside the small balcony, a kohi sat and witnessed as a fiery carnage unfolded before his hollow eyes; the young dark-haired boy lashed out balls of fire, burning everything in his way into ashes which was made difficlult when, at the same time, he was trying to contain the flames from getting out of hand. With anger burning within him and in his eyes, he cursed and set every piece of inanimate object he could lay his hands on, as if possessed by the devil himself.

As his dark eyes surveyed the room, Wolfram breathed heavily. Almost everything was burnt into ashes and yet his anger was not appeased, but somehow, the temper tantrum made him feel a tiniest bit better. And as he approached the bed, the woods creaked and groaned from all the abuse, and then finally, it collapsed to nothing. Naught was spared, save for the bookshelf that housed Yuri's lessons. Wolfram thought that if he burned those to the ground, how can he ever see the joy of watching Yuri study for endless hours in agony if he was to destroy them? _Best punishment ever! _He thought smugly as he folded his arms across his chest.

Turning his attention back to the charred bed, where he and Yuri used to sleep, he had but only one question in mind. _Where am I going to sleep tonight?_

-oOo-

Somewhere in Blood Pledge Castle, two men made their way to where their horses were being kept.

"Heard your mother was getting hitched again, captain," said the man with orange hair.

The brunet only laughed. "Well, what can I say? It _is _mother."

"The question lies before us: is she marrying for the man... or the child?"

"Josak," replied the other in a reprimanding tone.

The spy shrugged, "But it does make you think."

As they entered the stable, Conrart replied, "Well. Whatever reason, that is her business… as her son, I can only do so much. I cannot tell her how she should rule her life."

"Speaking of ruling, how's the king doing?"

"Knowing Yuri, he's probably just sulking, or reading, or staring into space. Unlike my younger brother, he's more peaceful when he's upset. I'm sure everything is fine."

"I know what you mean," Josak chuckled as he got up on his horse, "If it was little lord brat up there, I'm betting he's got everything up in flames already."

Conrart didn't say anything back as they made their way out, all saddled up and ready to go. _I'm pretty sure he already has, _he thought and could detect the slight yet rich aroma of something burnt.

And as they joined their troop, Josak said to his captain, "The maids must be cooking. I smell something burning."

TBC

A/N: well, this brings back memories… ehehehe… it's not that funny, is it? When I was making this, I pretty had a straight face on; I didn't even crack a smile. And nothing much happens in this chapter. Okay, I'll tell you honestly why I didn't update sooner. I didn't know how to proceed with the story; I bit off more than I could chew. Sorry. When I started this, I had the ending in my head; now, it's nothing but a distant and foggy memory. It's like starting from scratch, but not quite.

1. "_'Tis now the very witching time of night; when churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out contagion to this world._" (Shakespeare; loved it so much, I just had to include it)

2. Schmantelle is made up.

3. Fifth scene where Ulrike was in the inner sanctum, just disregard all the other stuff she was talking about; it plays no role in this story.

4. I had the strangest dream a few nights back, not that you're going to be interested, but I'll just share it anyway. I dreamt that Conrad was trying to kill Wolfram and Yuri was trying to protect his pretty fiancé. And get this: Conrad had a henchman! It was weird for me cause I hardly dream about anime. And we'll never know, maybe this will really happen in season 3!!


End file.
